Rogue state is a term applied by some international theorists to states considered threatening to the world's peace. This means meeting certain criteria, such as being ruled by authoritarian regimes that severely restrict human rights, sponsor terrorism, and seek to proliferate weapons of mass destruction. In the last six months of the Clinton administration, the term ""rogue state"" was temporarily replaced with the term ""state of concern,"" however, the Bush administration has returned to the earlier term. The U.S. government perceives the threat posed by these states as justifying its foreign policy and military initiatives, as in the case of anti-ballistic missile programs, which are held to be grounded in the concern that these states will not be deterred by the certainty of retaliation. In late 1990s U.S. officials considered North Korea, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Libya as ""rogue states"". The U.S.-Pakistani alliance following the 9/11 terrorist attacks removed Pakistan from the list. The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan removed the country from the list, and Iraq followed suit after the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. Libya achieved success through diplomacy and now is also not considered in the list. The concept of ""rogue states"" was replaced by the Bush administration with the ""Axis of Evil"" concept (gathering Iraq, Iran, and North Korea). U.S. President George W. Bush first spoke of this ""Axis of Evil"" during his January 2002 State of the Union Address.

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