NASHVILLE, TENN. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) authored a Letter to the Editor of the New York Times warning that the world must not turn a blind eye to the dangers posed by the New Axis of Evil.

Senator Marsha Blackburn, on ‘a New Axis of Evil’

Sen. Marsha Blackburn

New York Times

To the Editor:

Re “A New Axis?,” by David Leonhardt (The Morning newsletter, Aug. 2):

Mr. Leonhardt stopped short of asserting that Russia, China and Iran are cooperating against the U.S. I wish he hadn’t. A new axis of evil is indeed in play, and its success depends on our willingness to mince words.

These governments have spent decades encroaching on Western interests without firing a shot. For their weapons Moscow chose energy, Beijing chose critical supply chains and Tehran lured the West into a farcical attempt at nuclear diplomacy.

This entanglement is no less dangerous than a bomb specifically because so many proclaimed “experts” have waved it off as the natural result of global competition. Vladimir Putin and the rest may have finally embraced the trappings of diplomacy, but their rival interests have meshed far too cleanly for us to accept the coincidence.

The “coordinated campaign of aggression” began long ago (indeed, my references to this new axis of evil stretch back to 2018) and reflects not only shared interests, but also a willingness to align from afar.

Handshakes are redundant when the goal is the destruction of democratic norms. An understanding is all these dangerous men require.”