Vice President Dick Cheney was interviewed on Meet the Press on May 19, 2002. “He used the appearance to highlight the nexus between terrorists and rogue states, particularly Iraq. ‘It takes us back to the *axis of evil* speech the president [Bush] made at the State of the Union, our concerns about Iraq, our concerns about the possible marriage, if you will, between the terrorist organization on the one hand and a state that has or is developing weapons of mass destruction on the other. And if you ever get them married up–that is, if somebody who has nukes decides to share one with a terrorist organization, with the expectation they’ll use it against us–obviously we’ve got another problem.’ ”
– Stephen F. Hayes, Cheney, Page 376