Anyone who knew anything about the very different regimes Bush bundled together with that phrase knew that, well, there wasn't any real axis going on there. It was just the now par-for-the-course method of the Bush administration of fitting poor historical analogies onto current global issues (see countless parallels drawn between Osama and Hitler, between withdrawing from Iraq and Neville Chamberlains appeasement of the Nazis, etc). But, this was all more than harmless rhetoric: it actually created a FALSE understanding of the international system in the minds of most Americans.

"Oh, sure," those not in the know though. "So that makes sense, those guys are having weekly conference calls on how to take out the U.S. We take one out, we hurt 'em all." Well, not really, not at all. Our quagmire in Iraq is an unbelievable blessing for both Iran and North Korea. Iran can now inflict continuous damage against the Americans simply by funneling money into Shiite militia groups in Iraq. North Korea can do whatever the hell it wants because there ain't no way the U.S. military can do much of anything on the ground in Korea to stop them. Throughout the world, it is muy chic to be Anti-American.

All, with a brilliant touch of dramatic (nuclear) irony. Iraq? Yeah, didn't exactly have nukes, wasn't exactly close to producing them. Iran? Um, yeah they pretty much have nukes. North Korea? Oh, hmm, yeah looks like they definitely do. Glad we went and took care of that big bad evil Saddam. So he couldn't, um, supply nuclear weapons to terrorists. That will really show those Iranians and North Koreans. Now there is no way they can/will do that. Oh shit.