Powell tells aides not to dilute Bush's words
about `axis of evil,' official says
GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, January 31, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Concerned about dilution of President
Bush's warnings to North Korea and
other nations, Secretary of State Colin
Powell told aides Thursday to stick by
Bush's words when discussing the
issue with reporters, a senior official
said.
The official, who asked not to be
identified, said Powell was troubled
that news accounts of Bush's State of
the Union comments suggested he
didn't mean to be as belligerent as he
sounded. The official said unidentified
administration sources were
responsible for the backtracking.
Meanwhile, National Security Adviser
Condoleezza Rice, reinforcing Bush's
State of the Union comments, called
North Korea "the world's No. 1
merchant for ballistic missiles."
She said the United States has offered
"a road map" to North Korea in its
efforts to halt that practice, but "we've
had no serious response from
Pyongyang."
Bush, citing North Korea's efforts to
develop missiles and weapons of mass
destruction, said Pyongyang was part of
an "axis of evil" with Iran and Iraq.
He said the three threaten the peace of
the world and warned that they could
transfer their arms to terrorists.
Despite Bush's tough rhetoric, the
senior official said the United States
was unlikely to use force against North
Korea any time soon.
Apparently to guard against leaks,
nobody in the State Department, with
the possible exception of Powell, was
informed in advance of Bush's harsh
new tone, the senior official said.
People normally apprised of such
developments ahead of time were
caught flatfooted, he said.
Balbina Hwang, an East Asia analyst at
the Heritage Foundation, agreed with
the senior official that war is not
imminent. Bush's goal, she said, is "to
get North Korea's attention" in hopes
that the country will reconsider its
policy of sending arms and
weapons-related materials to countries
in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Powell's spokesman, Richard Boucher,
reaffirmed that the administration is
prepared to talk with North Korea "any
time, any place" about security issues.
Bush invited the North Koreans to
engage in such discussions six months
ago.
Boucher added that the United States
also is prepared to talk with Iran if that
country is ready to "deal seriously" with
Bush's ideas. Boucher did not suggest
that the administration is prepared to
talk with Iraq.
An unidentified North Korean
spokesman said Bush's comments were
"little short of declaring a war" against
that country.
"We are sharply watching moves of the
United States that have pushed the
situation to the brink of war after
throwing away even the mask of
dialogue and negotiations," the official
said in comments to the official KCNA
news agency.
Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst
with the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, said in a newly
updated report based on a Pentagon
assessment that North Korea's sale of
missile technology to Iran "has created
an immediate, serious and growing
capability to target U.S. forces and
allies in the Middle East."
He said such sales to both Iran and
Pakistan "have had an impact on the
strategic balance in the Middle East
and South Asia."
Cordesman wrote that North Korea's
nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons programs, coupled with its
missile program, probably are "key
components of its overall security
strategy."
sfgate.com · Printer-friendly version
· Email this article to a friend |
