President George W. Bush targets ‘axis of evil’ in State of the Union address 20 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 29 2002)


Video: 'President Bush Axis of Evil Speech'

(Tuesday, January 29, 2002, approximately 9:00 p.m. EST; during the War on terror and the War in Afghanistan) — In his first State of the Union address, President George W. Bush told Americans tonight that “our war against terror is only beginning” and sent new warnings to terrorists around the world and to three nations — Iran, Iraq and North Korea — states which he said constitute “an axis of evil.”

The speech covered the effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year and Bush’s plans to prevent future terrorist attacks upon the United States.


Video: 'State Of The Union Address 2002'

Bush gave a progress report on the Global War on Terrorism and detailed his plans to end terrorism and bring all terrorists to justice, either by legal prosecution or death.

“We will be deliberate, yet time is not on our side,” he said. “I will not wait on events, while dangers gather. I will not stand by, as peril draws closer and closer. The United States of America will not permit the world’s most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world’s most destructive weapons.”