“Bush is a polarising figure because these are polarising times. But, when the dust settles (metaphorically, I hope), his designation of Iran as part of an ‘axis of evil’ will seem a shrewder judgment than that of the Euro-appeasers or the snob Islamophiles. Facing profound challenges, most political leaders in the western world have shirked confrontation on everything from Islamism to unaffordable social programmes – and their peoples will live with the consequences of that non-confrontation long after those leaders are gone.”

Mark Steyn in the Daily Telegraph, 1 November 2005