Secrets Out Technicians In

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's interim Sinai agreement moved a significant step closer to congressional approval last week. Even as it did, one important and widely publicized clause in it already appeared to be in peril. The U.S. will not, after all, provide medium-range Pershing missiles to Israel as Kissinger had promised.

No Warning. The Pershings, whose 460-mile range would have provided Israel with a highly potent deterrent, were limited under Kissinger's agreement to use with conventional warheads. Even so, Arab states were alarmed that Israel might tip the missiles instead with nuclear warheads. Defense Secretary James Schlesinger was also disturbed by the Kissinger understanding. The Pentagon insisted that it had had no warning that Kissinger would commit the U.S. to Pershings for Israel until the Secretary returned home with the Sinai agreement two months ago. As part of the accord, Kissinger had pledged the U.S. to "an early meeting to undertake a joint study of high technology and sophisticated items, including the Pershing ground-to-ground missile with conventional warheads."

An obvious complication in supplying the missiles was that the U.S. production line that had been turning out the Pershing had long since been shut down. The alternative was to shift Pershings to Israel from Europe, where they are attached to NATO. Touring military bases in Europe last week, Schlesinger met with General Alexander Haig, commander of NATO forces--and, ironically, Kissinger's onetime closest aide--who insisted that the removal of the missiles would create a serious hole in NATO's counterstrike firepower against a Soviet assault. Haig was backed by U.S. European allies.

Apart from the Pershing obstacle, the Secretary of State's Sinai accord was all but certain of swift approval after a final congressional roadblock was removed last week. Following meetings with Kissinger, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee released official texts of the agreements the Secretary had worked out with Israel and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The release contained no surprises: the various protocols promising military, economic or diplomatic support to each side had all been leaked earlier. The reason that Kissinger had not wanted them published was to preserve the principle of confidentiality in international negotiations. On the strength of the official publication and the pledge that no other promises were still secret, Congress was satisfied enough to move toward a vote to ratify the assignment of 200 electronics technicians to the Sinai to monitor the Egyptian-Israeli truce there. A House vote of approval is expected this week; the Senate vote will follow. Oil experts from Egypt are then set to move into the Sinai oilfields, later than the original Oct. 5 date specified in the Kissinger negotiations but not too late to imperil the agreement itself.

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