Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

Dec. 6

The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, on the Afghanistan troop surge:

The complex challenge America faces in Afghanistan has no solution that can satisfy a divided public, and the plan President Barack Obama presented on national television ... reflects the dilemma and the division.

Despite the fervent wishes of many Americans who want to see the troops brought home immediately, Obama has little choice but to respect the advice of his top military leaders and add more manpower to the unfinished fight. As the president pointed out, an unstable Afghanistan is the central breeding ground for anti-Western terrorists and, as such, cannot be ignored. And the danger is multiplied by Afghanistan's effect on next-door Pakistan, with its nuclear weapons. ...

American forces can't go home safely until Afghanistan is under the control of a competent government. Leaders in Afghanistan and Iraq alike have demonstrated amply their willingness to rely on the U.S. military to keep order, neglecting their responsibility to develop honest, capable police and military forces. Announcing a date when the American presence will begin to shrink could be the only incentive for those leaders to develop the capacity to run their own countries.

Most Americans share a view of the ultimate goal in Afghanistan: get out. Obama's strategy, unsatisfactory as it is, could be the best approach available for reaching that goal without exposing the United States and Afghanistan to greater danger.

On the Net:

http://tinyurl.com/yjuuf2y

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Dec. 7

Detroit Free Press, on ending standoff on insurance reform:

Partisan politics in the Michigan Legislature _ and resulting gridlock _ have hurt the entire state. And no issue has felt a heavier dose of it than sorely needed insurance reform.

Democrats and industry-allied Republicans have repeatedly proposed remedies that neither side will accept _ and then drawn a line in the gravel. The result: Insurance rates have become so unaffordable in Michigan that 17 percent of motorists drive uninsured, up from 11 percent in 1989. In many urban areas, paying $4,000 a year for auto insurance isn't unusual, and more than half of the motorists drive uninsured, putting everyone at risk.

It's time _ no, way past time _ to compromise and move forward with solutions that, while imperfect, will make insurance more affordable, especially in Michigan's cities.

In October, the Republican-controlled Senate soundly rejected legislation barring insurers from using territorial ratings to help set rates.