State Department downgrades " Axis of Evil" to "Axle of Evil" it would seem......C
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U.S. Sees Democratic Glimmerings in Iran
(AP)
By BARRY SCHWEID 02/19/2003 19:03:21 EST
The State Department says there is a flowering of democracy in Iran that sets it apart
from Iraq and North Korea, the two other members of President Bush's "axis of evil."
Iran has held elections and permitted some self-expression, and the United States
supports the trend, department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
When Bush lumped the three countries together in January 2002, he accused them of
arming themselves with weapons of mass destruction. The president now is
considering military action to disarm Iraq and diplomacy to halt North Korea's nuclear
weapons program.
Last week, in an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Deputy Secretary of State
Richard Armitage said Iran was properly designated part of that axis, but differs from
Iraq and North Korea in that it is a democracy and should be approached differently.
Armitage declined to say whether the Bush administration had an agreement with Iran
in event of war with Iraq. He did say Iran has "done some good things in the war on
terrorism." But, he said, "they have done some other things, and there is still some
al-Qaida in Iran."
Asked about Armitage's remarks, Boucher said "certainly Iran has more democratic
flowering than any of the other two governments."
"It's quite clear the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people is something that we
have supported," Boucher said.
"They have held elections, they have had some ability to express themselves, and we
very much supported those kind of aspirations on the part of the Iranian people,"
Boucher said. "So any steps toward democracy, movement toward democracy and
democratic activity in Iran is something we want to support." |
