Dad Criticizes W's Axis Of Evil Speech

++George H.W. Bush in Menchem's latest book about his presidency said that David Frum's "Axis of Evil" speech was great for headlines but not for diplomacy.

++Max Fischer, writing in VOX, spells this out in detail. Ryan Crocker, our ambassador in Kabul, had daily negotiations with the Iranians because both countries opposed the Taliban. The Iranian said he felt "betrayed" and that General Suelieman,the head of the Revolutionary Guard, had been contemplating changing his attitude toward the Americans. Instead, the speech led to a vast escalation in Iran's nuclear program.

++David Frum was asked shortly after 9/11 to coin words that would justify the invasion of Iraq with or without WMDs. The Axis of Evil did the trick.

++The same applied to the North Korean nuclear program that was weaponized after the speech. I would also point out that W's crowd thought Clinton had gone too soft on North Korea in the nuclear negotiations and toughened sanctions which forced North Korea to assert themselves by exlodijng a bomb.