Armaments Battle of Jericho

Sometimes it is hard to tell not just the players but the game. Take the furor over Israel's Jericho II missile. Ever since the existence of the medium-range missile made headlines last month following a report in the Geneva-based journal International Defense Review, Moscow has been warning that the new weapon is an ominous escalation of the nuclear arms race. The Jericho II "is a direct challenge to the Soviet Union," claimed Radio Moscow in its Hebrew- language broadcast. Responding to reports that an advanced version of the Jericho II might have a range of 900 miles, the announcer added, "Israel's leaders must think twice about the effect of the development of a missile that can hit Soviet territory."

But the faint possibility that Israel might nuke the Soviet Union is not what the tiff is really about. Though Israel has never officially admitted building the new missile, let alone acknowledged that it produces nuclear warheads, the Jewish state has been known to be testing such a missile for at least a year. Analysts say the Kremlin is speaking out now only because it is engaged in a delicate diplomatic minuet. On the one hand, Moscow is pressuring the U.S. and its European allies to eliminate all medium-range missiles as part of a larger arms-control agreement. Last week, for example, Moscow demanded that U.S. warheads on NATO Pershing IA missiles deployed in West Germany be destroyed. The Soviets argue that any arms-control pact would be toothless if a strong U.S. friend like Israel continues to deploy such weapons.

On the other hand, Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev wishes to simultaneously expand his influence in the Arab world and pursue overtures toward Israel. Thus he has recently sold to Syria at least one squadron of MiG-29s, the Soviet equivalent of Israel's American-made F-16 jet fighters, but refuses to supply Damascus with sophisticated SS-23 land missiles. The disclosure that Israel possesses a comparable weapon has forced Gorbachev to denounce the missile in order to curry favor with Arab nations.

Israeli officials, eager to improve relations with the Soviet Union, have responded gingerly to Radio Moscow's threats. "The Soviet Union itself knows it faces no danger from Israel," declared Foreign Minister Shimon Peres last week. Israeli officials privately spread the word that the Jericho II has a range of only 500 miles, which would mean it could strike Arab capitals but would fall short of Soviet territory. At the same time, however, it is believed that Israel is working on a longer-range version that would indeed bring the southern edge of the Soviet Union within its reach.