Here are excerpts from editorials in newspapers around the world:

The Star-Ledger, Newark, New Jersey, on the Democratic presidential candidates and Iraq:

The Democratic contenders itching to replace President Bush are using the Iraq inferno as a source of rhetorical heat, but they’re mistaken if they think fighting words alone will win the White House for them.

It’s true that Iraq looms large in voters’ minds right now; in one recent poll, 65 percent of voters said the president should not send more troops if Congress votes for a nonbinding resolution against doing so.

But to be credible, Democrats need to do more than urge a pullout or chide a weak Iraqi government — as Sen. Hillary Clinton and others have — for not doing a better job of dealing with the long-standing sectarian rivalries unleashed by the security vacuum that followed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. They need to acknowledge that Iraq might very well implode after American troops leave, exacerbating an already horrific refugee problem and causing even greater bloodshed in a country for which the United States now has a certain responsibility. If Democrats fall into the trap of attacking the Bush administration and one another for their past votes on Iraq, they will miss the opportunity they have right now to show they are worthy to lead.

The Jackson Sun, Jackson, Tennessee, on Al Gore>

Congratulations to Tennessee’s native son, Al Gore, who is on a serious roll. First, he was nominated for an Oscar for his documentary on global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth.” And last week he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in raising awareness about the issue. ...

Gore is reviled by some because of his outspoken environmental views. But it is becoming increasingly clear that Gore is right when it comes to the issue of global warming. That became clear last week when a group of more than 100 international environmental scientists released the first part of their report on the subject. They concluded that not only is the phenomenon real, it is largely a man-made problem.

After losing the 2000 presidential election in controversial fashion, Gore could have simply faded away, never to be heard from again. He didn’t. Instead, he poured his considerable energies into what is truly his passion: promoting the environment and raising awareness about global warming.

Thanks to his efforts, people all over the world are talking about global warming. More important, after years of being derided by some as bad science, more people are taking the problem seriously and contemplating solutions. ...

The Independent, London, on friendly fir$>

In the case of Lance Corporal Matty Hull, who was killed when two US aircraft mistakenly fired on his convoy in the first weeks of the Iraq war, investigations were conducted by the relevant military bodies in Britain, as in the US.

This is not, however, where their obligations stop. The authorities, military and civilian, also have a duty to be honest with the bereaved family about exactly what happened. It is a duty that is moral, as well as judicial. That the relatives of many servicemen and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan have had to wait so long — and in some cases fight — for the clarity they should have been accorded as of right is nothing short of a disgrace.

The experience of Lance Corporal Hull’s widow, Susan, has been particularly bitter. In common with more than half of all Iraq war widows, she had to wait almost four years for the inquest into the death of her husband to be opened. When it finally got under way, it was adjourned by the coroner, Andrew Walker, last Friday because he needed authorisation to air the cockpit video of the US pilots in action — and British officials refused point-blank to give it without first obtaining clearance from the Americans. Two further facts are also pertinent. The coroner had sight of the video only because he had received a copy “unofficially.” And second, Mrs Hull had previously been told such a video did not exist.

Forgive our doubts. Had the coroner not received a copy of the video “unofficially,” had another copy not found its way into the public domain via The Sun newspaper, how long would it have taken for Lance Corporal Hull’s inquest to reach its conclusion? More to the point, would his family have ever learned the truth?