The existence of rogue states, and the threat they pose to the security of some other countries, has been used to justify foreign policy and other political policy. For example, renewed interest in and funding of anti-ballistic missiles programs in the U.S. is, according to the most prominent public statements of U.S. officials, grounded in the concern that a rogue state may acquire [weapons of mass destruction]? and not be deterred by threats of retalliation. North Korea and Iraq have been candidates for the name "rogue state."
Opponents to the concept of rogue states point out that leaders of even brutal and oppressive regimes act according to the logic of self-interest and argue that rogue state actually means "any state that opposes the U.S." Others accept the concept but consider the U.S. to be a rogue state; see anti-Americanism.
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