King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia did the least he could do when he pardoned the "girl from Qatif." The perfect injustice of the case, in which a young woman was gang-raped and then sentenced to 200 lashes and prison for being alone in a car with a man, was intolerable. We would like to believe the pardon was not simply a response to a great outcry from beyond the desert kingdom, but evidence of Abdullah's genuine commitment to the reform of Saudi Arabia's archaic judicial system of Shariah-based rulings dispensed by stern Wahhabi clerics.

Two months ago, before the Qatif case made international headlines, he approved plans for a substantial reformation of the legal system ... These plans have been especially welcomed by foreigners doing business in Saudi Arabia, who have been hamstrung by the capriciousness of the religious judges.

The case of the woman from Qatif (neither she nor her male companion have been identified) should demonstrate to the king that changes cannot stop at making life easier for businessmen. They certainly must make life far better for women, who are treated as little better than chattel before the courts, and, more broadly, in Saudi society.

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, DEC. 21

Heavy-handed Russia Russia's war of nerves with the West intensified [recently] with Moscow's formal suspension of its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty. Russia is using the CFE to remind NATO, and its European members in particular, of Moscow's strategic concerns as it hopes to drive a wedge between the two sides of the Atlantic.

The CFE was negotiated toward the end of the Cold War to limit conventional force deployments in Europe and western Russia. ... Russia's suspension means that it will stop exchanging information as stipulated by the treaty and it will end foreign inspections. Russian officials deny that any buildup of forces will follow, although there are unconfirmed reports of new troops being deployed to some restive regions. ...

Europe should not be intimidated: History suggests that will only encourage Russian heavy-handedness. NATO should demand that Russia honor its obligations and talk about concerns, rather than threaten. That is, after all, how partners work out their problems.

JAPAN TIMES, DEC. 20

Don't trust Hamas The IDF's successful operations against Islamic Jihad's top terrorists in Gaza have sparked calls from Hamas for negotiations and speculation over whether a massive ground operation against Hamas can be avoided after all. We've been through this movie, as Israelis say, so it is worth recalling some lessons learned. ...

[It] would be foolish for Israel to let up the military pressure against the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza now. Despite the talk in Hamas and Islamic Jihad of "revenge," increased Israeli military pressure on the killers and their dispatchers will not lead to more terrorism, but less.

JERUSALEM POST, DEC. 19