{"id":41368,"date":"2019-01-17T17:22:42","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T17:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/17\/pence-channels-his-inner-bush-with-wolf-pack-of-rogue-states-comments\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:25:11","slug":"pence-channels-his-inner-bush-with-wolf-pack-of-rogue-states-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/01\/17\/pence-channels-his-inner-bush-with-wolf-pack-of-rogue-states-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"Pence channels his inner Bush with \u2018Wolf Pack of Rogue States\u2019 comments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. faces a \u201cWolf Pack of Rogue States” that includes members of the Bush administration\u2019s Axis of Evil<\/a>, but also some newcomers in Latin America, according to Vice President Mike Pence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pence drew criticism<\/a> Wednesday after he said the Islamic State was defeated<\/a> just hours after four Americans were killed by an ISIS suicide bomber in northern Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But during that same speech, Pence also made another set of comments that could hint at the Trump administration\u2019s aggressive foreign policy and military options in the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeyond our global competitors, the United States faces a wolf pack of rogue states,\u201d Pence told U.S. ambassadors who were gathered in Washington for an annual meeting<\/a> known as the Global Chiefs of Mission Conference. \u201cNo shared ideology or objective unites our competitors and adversaries except this one: They seek to overturn the international order that the United States has upheld for more than half a century.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pence\u2019s Wolf Pack is reminiscent of former President George W. Bush\u2019s Axis of Evil, as first reported<\/a> by Bloomberg news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That phrase was used during Bush\u2019s tenure in the White House to describe Iran, Iraq and North Korea. The three states were singled out as sponsors of terror and seekers of weapons of mass destruction, according to the Bush administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2003, the U.S. military ousted the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq under the pretense that the country was concealing WMDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pence\u2019s new group includes those in the Axis of Evil \u2014 minus Iraq \u2014 but also some newcomers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst, there\u2019s the world\u2019s biggest state-sponsor of terror, which is grappling for dominance in the Middle East by spreading mayhem in any country that opposes it. Of course, I speak of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Pence said. \u201cThen there\u2019s the specter of dictatorship, which haunts the people of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAnd while the president has started a promising dialogue with Chairman Kim [Jong Un], we still await concrete steps by North Korea to dismantle the nuclear weapons that threaten our people and allies in the region,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Bloomberg notes, Vladimir Putin\u2019s government in Russia is absent from the list. Over the course of Putin\u2019s time in office, Russia has annexed portions of Georgia and Ukraine, and caused considerable anxiety among NATO allies in Eastern Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump administration\u2019s Syria policy started to shift away from defeating ISIS and toward countering Iranian influence<\/a> in September. Given the president\u2019s stated desire to leave Syria, it is unclear how that goal will manifest in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\t