O'FALLON, Mo.'President Bush, who drew widespread criticism from allies for lumping Iran, Iraq and North Korea together as an \axis of evil,"" repeated the phrase Monday for the first time in more than six weeks.
The president, who first used the phrase in his State of the Union address Jan. 29, was asked Monday his reaction to Middle Eastern leaders who have urged the United States to focus more on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and less on Iraq.
""I appreciate their advice, but we will not allow one of the world's most dangerous leaders to have the world's most dangerous weapons, and hold the United States and our friends and allies hostage,"" Bush said, referring to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. ""That's just not going to happen. And so I appreciate their advice ... What I said about the axis of evil is what I mean. I can't be any more plain about it.""
Bush made the remarks to reporters here after a roundtable with small-business owners and workers. The reporters noted that Vice President Dick Cheney has encountered significant Arab resistance to his efforts to build support among Middle East countries for possible new U.S. actions against Iraq.
A senior administration official knew of no prior plan by Bush to repeat the ""axis of evil"" phrase Monday.
""He said it for the same reason he said it before,"" the official said.
Officials said Bush first used the phrase to draw world attention to rogue states' acquisition of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The statement complicated relations with several allies, most notably South Korea, where President Kim Dae Jung feared the words could set back his efforts to engage North Korea.
Since then, Bush has seemed to go out of his way to avoid the phrase, at one point saying he has no beef with individual citizens of North Korea ""even though I label them a particular label.""
Bush repeated it Feb. 6 when he said at a New York City fund-raiser, ""I talked about an axis of evil because I firmly believe that nations need to be put on notice that this nation will not allow our citizens to become threatened.""
Bush's comments came as he traveled to a pivotal state in the 2002 and 2004 elections to warn that an economic recovery is not assured.
