Condoleezza Rice, President George W Bush's nominee as secretary of state, has identified "outposts of tyranny" where the US must help bring freedom.
They are Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Burma and Belarus.
Ms Rice was answering questions during a session of the US Senate, which is expected to confirm her in the post.
The comments were reminiscent of Mr Bush's "axis of evil" speech in 2002, in which he identified Iraq, Iran and North Korea as threats to US security.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4186241.stm