speech not just rhetoric

? President Bush underscored his determination to open new battlefronts in the war on terrorism Thursday, warning hostile regimes that “the justice of this nation will be served on them” if they threaten harm to the United States or its allies.

Following up on his State of the Union speech calling Iran, Iraq and North Korea an “axis of terror,” Bush served notice that his words were not merely a rhetorical flourish. He did not mention any country by name this time, or outline a specific timetable, but he left little doubt about his intention to act.

“When we say, ‘You’re either with us or against us,’ we mean it,” Bush told a cheering crowd in Atlanta. “There’s no middle ground when it comes to freedom and terror … I will follow through.”

While the president has trained his rhetoric on Iran, Iraq and North Korea, however, senior administration officials Thursday said the U.S. intelligence community and the Pentagon have been ordered to prepare for possible military action in three other countries Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The officials, who requested anonymity, said the CIA and other agencies have been directed to “intensify” intelligence collection in the three countries, all of which harbor groups allied with Osama bin Laden and are considered possible destinations for bin Laden and his lieutenants if they escape from Afghanistan. The Pentagon is stepping up efforts to identify potential military targets in the three countries and is pre-positioning some forces to act swiftly if targets are spotted, the officials said.

The governments of Sudan and Yemen are “generally cooperating” with U.S. antiterrorism efforts, the officials said, and in Somalia, where there is no effective central government, some local warlords are offering to cooperate with the CIA. So far, however, neither CIA spies nor reconnaissance photos have identified any al-Qaida military targets in the three countries.

The officials said no new plans are being drafted for military action against Iran, Iraq or North Korea, but Bush set off alarm bells around the world Tuesday by singling out the three as leading targets for U.S. action. On Thursday, he spelled out his goal in more direct terms.

“It means they better get their house in order,” he said. “It means they better respect the rule of law. It means they better not try to terrorize America and our friends and allies or the justice of this nation will be served on them as well.”

Some world leaders have questioned Bush’s hard-line stance. European nations seeking closer ties to Iran and Iraq oppose military action against those countries, while South Korea, a staunch U.S. ally, is working to ease hostilities with North Korea.

U.S. action against either Iran or Iraq could also inflame tensions in the Arab world.

Bush acknowledged the unease generated by his views, but insisted that he would not back down.