Opinion: The axis backlash

President Bush didn't have to wait long to start seeing the negative consequences of his loose talk about an "axis of evil." Millions of Iranians gathered in nationwide demonstrations a few days ago to denounce the president's rhetoric lumping Iran with Iraq and North Korea as the next targets in the war against terrorism. In recent years, Iran's biggest street demonstrations had been directed against the reactionary ayatollahs who have obstructed democratic reform in the country. But President Bush's "axis of evil" reference in last month's State of the Union address did wonders for the ayatollahs' popularity. Not since the early days of the Iranian revolution has popular resentment toward the United States been quite so vehement.

Having called the United States the "Great Satan" for so long, Iranians shouldn't be so sensitive about a slur thrown back in their direction. Still, the president's words were heard by a worldwide audience, and they could complicate the next phase of the war against terrorism. Even many U.S. allies generally supportive of our antiterrorism efforts were troubled by the president's simplistic rhetoric. They fear that turning attention so quickly to Iran, Iraq, North Korea and other targets could blur the focus on finishing off al-Qaida and the related terrorist groups directly linked to the Sept. 11 attacks. They also worry that the president's threat of unilateral action against Iraq could fracture the broad international coalition whose support will be crucial in the long-term effort to curb terrorism around the globe.

The Bush administration's broader promise to crack down on Iran and other governments that aid terrorism is entirely appropriate -- in fact, long overdue. Iran props up Hezbollah and other groups responsible for acts of terrorism against Israel. Iran also is thought to be only a few years away from completing development of its own nuclear weapons. Tehran should understand that Washington cannot ignore its development of weapons of mass destruction that could disrupt the balance of power in that region.

At the same time, however, Iran has been in the midst of an encouraging period of democratic change. President Mohammad Khatami's reform-minded allies dominate Iran's elected legislature and have pressed the country's hardline clerics to allow a more open society and normalized relations with the West. In the days after Sept. 11, Iran, which for years had supported the Northern Alliance and other groups opposing Afghanistan's Taliban regime, offered various forms of assistance to the United States. It quickly tightened its border with Afghanistan, shared intelligence on individuals and groups linked to al-Qaida and promised indirect help to U.S. military operations in the region.

In some respects, Iran's support for our post-Sept. 11 actions was less suspect than that of Pakistan, which was the Taliban's most important benefactor. But while President Bush used his State of the Union address as an occasion to single out Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf for praise, he used it to link Iran with its mortal enemy Iraq.

Our deft diplomacy in Pakistan has strengthened Musharraf and marginalized anti-Western Islamic extremists, whose street demonstrations opposing the war in Afghanistan quickly fizzled out. A similar strategy with Iran might have prevented the demonstrations seen there last week and helped the cause of Iranian reformers who had been seeking peaceful coexistence with the West.

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