MILNET presents an analysis of public relations efforts by the Bush administration which we believe centers on preparing the U.S. public and indeed the world for a unilateral attack on Iraq and Iran and clearly threaten North Korea hoping to freeze them in place.  Citing the annual government report on terrorism, Patterns of Global Terrorism, MILNET has, for years has made the point clear that Iraq and Iran are clear dangers to the world.  The government non-proliferation reports, Non-Proliferation:  Threat and Response  have also made similar clear denunciations against North Korea.

The current public relations effort has been brewing in the minds of MILNET editors since reports first surfaced that Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz and others have been counseling the President to take on Iraq even prior to the events of September 11.

In later reports following that attack, insiders leaked that Wolfowitz and others offered the Iraqi attack as an alternative to kicking off the War on Terror.  While President Bush did not appear to go along with the logic linking Iraq to the attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, it is clear today that the message that Iraq is a clear and present danger to the U.S.

In a similar vein, there are proponents in the government focused on the threat posed by Iran, which, in many minds, offers a more serious threat since it is not today under a military no fly zone scenario like Iraq and does not have the level of sanctions that are being applied to Iraq.  This allows Iran a free hand -- much more so than Iraq - to sell WMD to terrorist buyers, and of course themselves sponsor widespread terrorist activities.

MILNET recently published in article on the reasoning for the "Axis of Evil" remark made by President Bush in the State of the Union speech in January, the crucial turning point in this public relations assault on Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.

In this report, we explore print and online media stories that touch on this topic area including partisan attacks on Bush's clearcut positioning for possible unilateral action if necessary.