Fight against evil

In his October 17, 2003, Remarks to Military Personnel at Travis Air Force Base, California, President George W. Bush said:


 * "We don't quarrel with the innocent folks of Afghanistan; they're not our enemy. Nor is any religion the enemy of the United States of America. The evil ones have tried to hijack a religion to justify their murder. But I want to assure the people of the world that our military fights not against Muslims or fights not against the Islam religion; we fight against evil people. We fight against people who believe that they can harm the United States of America. We fight against people who have no country, no ideology; they're motivated by hate.

This concept was expressed only days earlier, on October 15, 2001, by Condoleezza Rice, who told an al-Jazeera reporter that the war on terrorism "is a fight against evil people who willingly take the lives of civilians in terrorist attacks against office buildings or the Pentagon."

The phrase fight against evil is commonly connected with the hero or heroine of nearly every comic book, action figure, and action cartoon. Cultures from around the world are steeped in the concept of battling or fighting against evil, thus rendering it both familiar and acceptable. Web sites on the internet not uncommonly use such advertisements as "Join Superman in his war against evil." In September 2002, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria posted Africa and Coalition Partners Fight Against Evil of Terrorism in its publication Crossroads.

Much earlier examples, though, can be found in the Bible, as well as in other religious writings:

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 * "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12 NIV).
 * Axis of evil
 * enemies of freedom
 * evil ones
 * evil-doers
 * groupthink
 * power of persuasion
 * religion and empire