Why are the "bad guys" still called the "Axis" powers, but the Allies are now the "Coalition?"

Question

Any ideas?

Answer 1

I think that's a really good question. For my part, I think you have to consider the power of labels. In framing the structure of the debate surrounding the "War on Terror" the American government chose names that had clear historical referents. When one hears the word "Axis" one immediately thinks of World War II and Nazi Germany -- a clear symbol of evil and tyranny. "Axis." Even without knowing who the new Axis is, I'm connecting them to one of the most hated regimes in world history. "Coalition" works in the opposite way. It makes one think of international co-operation, consensus, agreement. It's a clever way to mask the enormous international disagreements which surrounded America's unilateral policy to invade Iraq. The United Nations did not agree with America. But when America calls its forces a "coalition" it leads one to believe that a large degree of agreement existed.

So I think it's all a way to manage public relations. It plays up the moral aspect of the struggle on the one hand, while playing down the lack of international agreement on the other.

Answer 2

Well, first of all, the bad guys that the US and the coalition is fighting are not called the "axis", they are called al queda(variant spellings).

I beilieve you are taking one of Bush's speeches out of context, he referred to Iraq, Iran and North Korea as an "axis of evil" several years ago, this had absolutely no connection with the axis powers of WWII.

Main Entry:
Axis
Function:
adjective
Date:
1938

: of or relating to the three powers Germany, Italy, and Japan engaged against the Allied nations in World War II

Main Entry:
ax·is Listen to the pronunciation of axis
Pronunciation:
\ˈak-səs\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural ax·es Listen to the pronunciation of axes \-ˌsēz\
Etymology:
Latin, axis, axle; akin to Old English eax axis, axle, Greek axōn, Lithuanian ašis, Sanskrit akṣaḥ
Date:
14th century

1 a: a straight line about which a body or a geometric figure rotates or may be supposed to rotate
5: a main line of direction, motion, growth, or extension
9: a point or continuum on which something centers

the axis of evil during the cold war was Moscow and Beijing, today according to Bush2, it is Pyongyang, Tehran and before Saddam was hung, Baghdad.

whale

Answer 3

It was a deliberate choice of words for Bush's 2002 State of the Union speech. These words are chosen carefully and deliberately, and the guy who wrote them is paid very big money. With the right words, you (a general 'you': the unthinking masses) automatically assume a particular position without actually thinking. They have a Pavlovian emotional response to the matter. Words replace thoughts.

You then know who to vote for. The guy with the 'values'.

Answer 4

ahiddentableau and llordlloyd are hitting it dead-on. read George Lakoff's Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. This will show you how metaphor is used to paint images in the mind that are not easy to ignore.

Answer 5

Winners always get to re-write history to fit their needs. They can spin anyway they want.

Answer 6

first peek in yourself then really you be find your answer

Answer 7

and why is it that i didnt know this... ??