The term "evil empire" does not imply that every person there is evil. If that were the case, that would be an "evil, direct democracy". Those who hold the reins in the US, however - i mean the government's top, the popular media, and every other thing that has a nigh-exclusive grip on the masses' collective conceous - are effectively "evil". A regime is judged by its governing "elite", not by the victims of its rule.