AS GLENN REYNOLDS would say, some people are not anti-war, they're on the other side:

Others want Iraq to fail because they want America to fail, with or without Bush. The bitter tone of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan when he declared the liberation of Iraq "illegal" shows that it is not the future of Iraq but the vilification of the United States that interests him.

Add to this the recent bizarre phrase from French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. The head of the Figaro press group went to see him about the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq; Raffarin assured him they would soon be freed, reportedly saying, "The Iraqi insurgents are our best allies."

In plain language, this means that, in the struggle in Iraq, Raffarin does not see France on the side of its NATO allies — the U.S., Britain, Italy and Denmark among others — but on the side of the "insurgents."

Meanwhile, Iraqi primer minister Iyad Allawi just said in London that the media is helping the kidnappers:

Iyad Allawi, the Iraqi prime minister, demanded yesterday that Kenneth Bigley's kidnappers be starved of publicity.

He said the intense exposure given to the plight of the Liverpool engineer was only encouraging the taking of more hostages.

"Terrorists feed on the media," he said. "If you cut off this oxygen, they will die very quickly."

[...] Mr Allawi said: "The videos his captors have released show not only their brutality but also their ruthlessness and their wile.

"It is repugnant to take an innocent man like Kenneth Bigley and to use him as a political pawn in this way. The anguish and pain inflicted on his family and friends are indescribable. My heart goes out to them and my prayers are with them and with Kenneth."

But Mr Allawi said he was saddened by the media coverage: "Let us not forget that this terrorism depends entirely on publicity. We therefore need to think long and hard about how this kidnapping has been covered by the media . . .

"Can we justify showing videos of hostages or groups of armed and hooded men? Is this not exactly the publicity the terrorists seek? Should we play their game?"

We certainly shouldn't, Mr Allawi; that's what makes it so revolting.