A Libyan daily slammed U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday for claiming in his State of the Union address before Congress that Iran, Iraq and North Korea belonged to an "axis of evil."
According to AFP, under the headline “Axis of evil or axis of resistance”, Al-Zaaf Al-Akhdar stated, "the only common denominator among Iran, Iraq and North Korea is their resistance to U.S. hegemony."
"What these three countries have in common is their opposition, each in its own way, to imperialist plans, thus hampering U.S. interests," said the daily, in the initial Libyan reaction to the disputed speech delivered by the U.S. leader.
"The three countries have nothing to do with the terror which hit the United States," it said referring to the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
The Libyan newspaper added that Bush's announcement served as evidence that U.S. policies were "stupid and blind," and warned Washington it would face "isolation on the international scene" and a "fit of anger from peoples who do not forgive their enemies."
Libya itself is on a list of seven countries, along with Iran, Iraq and North Korea, the United States has designated as states sponsoring terrorism. Cuba, Sudan and Syria make up the rest of the list.
Only last month, the United States denied a report that it was close to reach an agreement with Tripoli to remove the country from that list. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
