" And there is another task. If America is to achieve these ambitious and worthy goals, it is going to need help. Plainly, it does not need military help ... But it will need help with much else: sanctions, financial controls, diplomatic persuasion, the enforcement of anti-proliferation measures, police work, intelligence. However fine its values and just its cause, it will need to nurture the support of others. That support is more fragile than it should be, but also America seems less conscious than it needs to be of the importance of maintaining it. To fight an axis of evil, even a superpower needs an axis of its own. "

In moving our office this week, I came across a pile of old issues of The Economist. The above is from their lead editorial from February 2, 2002 - concluding their review of the "Axis of Evil" speech. I guess the White House didn't have a subscription.