George W. Bush called Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an "axis of evil." Then he launched an attack and invaded Iraq. From this, it would not be unreasonable for leaders of Iran and North Korea to assume that one or both of them were next on Bush's list to invade. Knowing that they do not have sufficient conventional military forces to defend themselves from an invasion by the United States, it is perfectly understandable that they might want to acquire nuclear weapons and use the threat of them as a deterrent to such an attack.

The leaders of neither country are stupid enough to think that they could possibly survive if they were to launch a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the United States. But they may very well feel that if they have nuclear weapons, that fact might make Bush, or any future leader of the United States, think twice about invading them.

Were it not for the threat that Bush's "axis of evil" speech implied, they quite probably would not have even considered adding nuclear weapons to their arsenals.

If Bush considers Iran's alleged efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, which, incidentally, is not established as true, to be a threat to the United States, it is a threat that was caused by Bush himself.

As it stands now, North Korea has pledged to give up the few nuclear weapons it has and is allowing inspectors in. Iran claims that they want to use nuclear energy for strictly peaceful purposes, and have made an agreement with Russia to supply them with the nuclear fuel they need for this purpose, then reclaim it when depleted. Under Russia's supervision, Iran will not need to have the means to enrich the fuel to weapons-grade material, nor will the Russians allow them to do so.

These countries constitute a nuclear threat only in the minds of those who believe Bush Administration propaganda.

Less swaggering and saber-rattling and a little basic diplomacy would make all the difference in the world, and the Bush Administration has been a complete failure in that department.

Don Firth