THE THREE AMIGOS:

French President Jacques Chirac and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero backed U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan Tuesday in the face of criticism over the U.N. oil-for-food scandal in Iraq.

"They both called Kofi Annan jointly to express their solidarity at a time when he is being unfairly attacked," a Spanish government spokesman told reporters.

Zapatero and Chirac, in the northern Spanish city of Zaragoza for a bilateral summit, discussed Annan's situation during a lunch and agreed to telephone him immediately, he said.

Annan, the winner of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, has come under scrutiny over the $64 billion oil-for-food program for Iraq, administered by the U.N. and supervised by the 15-nation Security Council.

On the other hand, this is a disappointment and, unlike the previous item, unexpected; at least on these terms.