"The United States of America will not allow the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most dangerous weapons." That ringing proclamation by President George W. Bush lies atthe heart of the "Bush doctrine", which took America to war in Iraq.It was made in the president's 2002 State of the Union address - the same speech in which he introduced the world to an "axis of evil" of three countries: Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
Almost five years on and the North Koreans' apparently successful test of a nuclear weapon has delivered what may be a final blow to the Bush doctrine. In the name of preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, the US invaded Iraq - only to discover that it had no such weapons. But North Korea has successfully tested a nuclear weapon, in spite of the Bush doctrine. The third member of the "axis of evil", Iran, is pressing ahead with its own nuclear programme - and seems likely to be greatly heartened by North Korean success.
