The world underwent significant changes during the presidency of George W. Bush. He was in office when the planes hit the World Trade Center in 2001, initiated the invasion of Iraq, and introduced the term "enhanced interrogation techniques" for the torture methods used by Americans in the fight against terror.
He also coined the term "Axis of Evil," which originally included Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.
Two decades later, the question arises whether these three countries still constitute this infamous axis.
According to Anna Libak, the foreign editor of the danish paper, Weekendavisen, they do not. While Iran and North Korea remain, Iraq has been replaced by China and Russia.
She revealed this in an interview on DR's Deadline.
The Terrifying Four
This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.
Officially, the meeting was about bilateral cooperation, but most analysts believe the real agenda was arms supplies from North Korea to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. According to Libak, this meeting should be seen as an investment in the new "Axis of Evil."
"There is a squadron of countries—China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia—that have simply joined forces. You could revive the old Axis of Evil or call it the Terrifying Four. These are countries convinced that their strengthening depends on the weakening of the West," Libak said in the interview.
Libak argues that the U.S. and Europe need to find more allies and distinguish between countries that seek their downfall and those that don't.
The aim is to prevent this new axis from succeeding in their plans to create a counterbalance to the Western world order.
