THE WEEK: AUGUST 13-19

NATION

COUNTERMOVES IN THE GULF

Heeding warnings from two high-level Iraqi defectors that Saddam Hussein has recently considered attacking Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the U.S. sent ships carrying supplies and equipment to the Persian Gulf and ordered 1,400 troops to Kuwait for military maneuvers. Pentagon officials expressed concern about elite Iraqi forces conducting “unusual training activities” around Baghdad.

NEW WHITEWATER INDICTMENTS

Two Clinton associates in the Whitewater deal were indicted by a federal grand jury in Little Rock. James McDougal and his former wife Susan were named in a 21-count indictment that included charges of fraud, conspiracy and making false statements to obtain federally backed loans. And there were 11 new charges against Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker, who did legal work for the failed savings and loan owned by the McDougals. (Tucker was indicted in June on separate charges.) President Clinton and his wife were not charged-as an accompanying press release from independent counsel Kenneth Starr pointed out.

HURRICANE BILL HITS WYOMING

Bringing golf clubs and hiking boots, the President and his family flew into Wyoming’s gorgeous Teton mountain range for a long-anticipated-and surely welcome-vacation. The First Family has settled into a lavishly rustic 8,000-sq.-ft. house that belongs to West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller-one of only a handful of Clinton’s political soulmates in this staunchly Republican state.

LAST QUARTER FOR BRADLEY

New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley-a former New York Knicks basketball star, Rhodes Scholar and all-around Democratic deep thinker-said he would not seek re-election in 1996. Calling the U.S. political system “broken,” the respected Bradley added that he had grown disillusioned after three Senate terms. “Neither political party speaks to people where they live their lives,” he declared. Although Bradley said he would not challenge Clinton in the 1996 Democratic primaries, he did not rule out the possibility of running as an independent.

RUBY RIDGERS WIN $3 MILLION

The family of white separatist Randy Weaver was awarded a $3.1 million settlement by the Justice Department. Three years ago, Weaver’s wife and 14-year-old son were killed by U.S. agents in a bloody standoff at his Ruby Ridge cabin in northern Idaho. Weaver-who is something of a hero to the militia movement-was accused of killing an agent in the shootout.

“SIR, I PLEAD NOT GUILTY”

With those words, Timothy McVeigh responded to 11 charges in the Oklahoma City bombing. Each bears a possible death penalty. Fellow defendant Terry Nichols also entered a not guilty plea.

UNFRIENDLY FIRE FOR THE U.S.A.F.

What had been a slap on the wrist became something a little more forceful as the Air Force re-examined the accidental downing of two U.S. Army helicopters over northern Iraq. An earlier Air Force criminal inquiry brought charges against only one officer, and he was acquitted on all counts. A new report by General Ronald Fogleman, the Air Force Chief of Staff, cites two generals for poor judgment and failure to uphold Air Force standards; five airmen were barred from airborne assignments for at least three years. Twenty-six people died in the 1994 “friendly fire” tragedy, including 15 Americans.

BACK TO CIVILIAN LIFE

Shannon Faulkner, who fought for more than two years to become the first female “knob” at the Citadel, dropped out of the military college after missing all of the school’s “hell week” indoctrination. Faulkner became ill following a drill in 100-degree weather and spent most of the week in the campus infirmary. Her fellow cadets greeted the news of Faulkner’s departure with cheers and jeers.

HUMAN GUINEA PIGS

A report released by the Department of Energy discloses that human radiation experiments conducted from the end of World War II into the 1970s were far more extensive than was previously known. About 16,000 people participated-often unwittingly-in the tests; many were from “vulnerable populations” that included prisoners, pregnant women, children, mentally retarded people and comatose patients.

SIMPSON JUDGE: “RECUSE ME!”

There was high drama again at the endless-and, in recent weeks, tedious-O.J. Simpson murder trial. The possibility of a mistrial was raised when a visibly emotional Judge Lance Ito agreed with the prosecution that he might be unable to act impartially if 11 hours of taped interviews with prosecution witness Detective Mark Fuhrman were introduced as evidence. The interviews allegedly contain derogatory comments about Ito’s wife Captain Margaret York, who is the L.A.P.D.’s highest-ranking female officer. (More to the evidentiary point, Simpson defense lawyers contend that the tapes contain passages in which Fuhrman discusses framing suspects, and 30 instances of his using the word nigger-language he earlier testified he had not used in 10 years.) By week’s end, however, all sides agreed that Ito should continue to preside over the case, and another judge ruled that Captain York could not be called to testify, removing a possible conflict for Ito, who must still rule on whether the tapes can be introduced as evidence.

WORLD

PEACEMAKERS PERISH

Three senior American diplomats, together with a French peacekeeper, died in an accident on the way to Sarajevo for talks on the new U.S.-drafted peace plan for Bosnia. Robert Frasure, a top envoy to the five-nation contact group seeking Bosnian peace; Joseph Kruzel, deputy assistant secretary of defense; and National Security Council aide Nelson Drew were killed when their vehicle plunged off the road while trying to avoid an oncoming U.N. convoy.

CUNY SAID KILLED BY CHECHENS

The family of American aid worker Frederick Cuny said he was executed by Chechen rebels on April 14 after Russian intelligence agents spread rumors that he was an anti-Chechen spy. Cuny, who was awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant last June, was on a humanitarian mission to develop an aid plan for Chechnya. Although a Russian official said his government believed Cuny was still alive, U.S. diplomats in Moscow said they agreed with the family. ISRAELI ATROCITIES ALLEGED

The public acknowledgment by a retired Israeli general that, as a captain, he helped massacre 49 Egyptian POWs during the 1956 war in the Sinai stirred other veterans to speak out about similar atrocities in the war of 1967. The unit allegedly involved in the 1956 incident was commanded by right-wing politician Rafael Eitan, who intends to run for Prime Minister in 1996. At Egypt’s request, the Israeli government ordered an investigation.

JAPAN APOLOGIZES

Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, the first Japanese leader ever to do so, offered a “heartfelt apology” for Japan’s aggression during World War II. In a nationally televised speech, Murayama said, “Japan, following a mistaken national policy, advanced along the road to war…and through its colonial rule and aggression caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations.”

RUSSIAN RICH RUN SCARED

Frightened by the fatal poisoning of influential banker Ivan Kivelidi earlier this month, Russia’s nouveaux riche businessmen held a protest in front of the former KGB headquarters in Moscow to protest the slayings of nearly 50 of their contemporaries in the past year. Arriving in chauffeured armored limousines and surrounded by burly bodyguards, the businessmen demanded a government crackdown on crime.

BUSINESS

NEW PRINCE FOR MAGIC KINGDOM

Disney startled everyone for the second time in two weeks, naming Hollywood’s ultimate insider, Michael Ovitz, as its new president. Ovitz, who headed the Creative Artists Agency, is now in the unaccustomed position of having a boss: Disney chairman Michael Eisner, who revealed two weeks ago that Disney would buy Capital Cities/abc for $19 billion.

SPORT NO SURPRISE IN THE TYSON FIGHT

Former heavyweight champ and ex-convict Mike Tyson made a successful return as Peter McNeeley’s corner called it quits after 1 min. 29 sec. of the first round. -By Kathleen Adams, Nick Catoggio, Lina Lofaro, Jeffery C. Rubin, Anastasia Toufexis and Sidney Urquhart