It seems Condi Rice has done away with that nefarious "axis of evil" notion and replaced it with the more colonial-sounding "outposts of tyranny," and naming six countries as such: Cuba (big surprise), Belarus, Iran, Zimbabwe, Burma, and North Korea. Oddly, I don't think there's much to disagree with here, all six being legitimate "problem states." But notice the obvious omissions: Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Albania, China, Pakistan, most of the -stans, in fact, and so many others, including between a third and a half of the nations of Africa. These are hardly surprising, given various geo-political conditions and entanglements, and the simple fact that we can hardly expect every tyrannical regime to be named like agents and managers in a Golden Globe acceptance speech. But where is Syria, one of the triple pillars of the original evil axis, now suddenly forgotten? Has Syria quietly abandoned the dark side of the force and joined the Coalition of the Increasingly Unwilling? Have the Bushies embraced Syria as the Prodigal Country, or have they just Oops-ed them as they've oopsed so many things? Something has definitely shifted here, because Syria is an easier post to kick than, say, Belarus. I suspect the Bushies have made some sort of deal with Syria that kept that country of this list, perhaps it having something to do with Israeli-Palestinian relations and tightening the Syrian border with Iraq. Whatever happened, Syria's absence from this list is very suggestive indeed. My guess? Syria's been helping the Americans develop intelligence on Iran, and this was one of its rewards. Sy Hersh may have been cutting closer to the bone than most of us had initially thought.
UPDATE: Seems there's another outpost of tyranny to be named, at least according to this blog: Bhutan. Key quote: "If Bhutan were a celebrity, it would be Johnny Depp—reclusive, a bit odd, but endearing nonetheless." To others, perhaps.
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