David Frum strives for accuracy
Forgive me a historical nitpick. In a bloggingheads diavlog with Robert Wright, David Frum defends his partial coining of the term “Axis of Evil” by comparing it to the Axis Powers that banded together in World War II. Click here to see and listen (it’s about a minute). I’ll wait…. You’re back? In an effort ...
Forgive me a historical nitpick. In a bloggingheads diavlog with Robert Wright, David Frum defends his partial coining of the term "Axis of Evil" by comparing it to the Axis Powers that banded together in World War II. Click here to see and listen (it's about a minute). I'll wait.... You're back? In an effort to be accurate, let's parse out where Frum is right and where he is wrong in his historical analogy. Frum is accurate in stating that the Axis powers were not allies like the U.S. and U.K. were allies, because there was no integrated command structure. Of course, that's because, until 1945, very few allies have integrated command structures. Frum is not accurate, when he says, "an axis is not an alliance." The original Axis powers did in fact sign the 1940 Tripartite treaty, which is commonly recognized as a traditional alliance. More generally, the point is that the military policies of Germany, Italy, and Japan were far more coordinated in 1940 than Frum's Axis of Evil were in 2002. That is all.
Forgive me a historical nitpick. In a bloggingheads diavlog with Robert Wright, David Frum defends his partial coining of the term “Axis of Evil” by comparing it to the Axis Powers that banded together in World War II. Click here to see and listen (it’s about a minute). I’ll wait…. You’re back? In an effort to be accurate, let’s parse out where Frum is right and where he is wrong in his historical analogy. Frum is accurate in stating that the Axis powers were not allies like the U.S. and U.K. were allies, because there was no integrated command structure. Of course, that’s because, until 1945, very few allies have integrated command structures. Frum is not accurate, when he says, “an axis is not an alliance.” The original Axis powers did in fact sign the 1940 Tripartite treaty, which is commonly recognized as a traditional alliance. More generally, the point is that the military policies of Germany, Italy, and Japan were far more coordinated in 1940 than Frum’s Axis of Evil were in 2002. That is all.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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