A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

of mounting a serious challenge to North . But assaults on the former Marine off

icer by such fellow Republicans as Sen. John W. Warner , Virginia 's most popula

r politician at the moment , former President Reagan and former Gov. Linwood Hol

ton nourished open doubts among regular Republicans about North as a viable cand

idate , even in a race against a compromised Democratic incumbent . And opinion 

polls showed that Miller , but not North , could defeat Robb in the November gen

eral election . ( Optional Add End ) `` Many powerful people will try to stand i

n our way , '' North said in an obvious reference to Warner 's promise to help C

oleman 's independent candidacy , `` but I 'd rather do what is right than be an

ointed by some professional politician . '' The prospect of two independents wit

h some political standing has set off puzzled speculation among political handic

appers . Wilder , the first black ever elected to a state governorship when he w

on here in 1989 , would be expected to get overwhelming support from black voter

s who might make up 17 percent to 18 percent of the total meaning that even with

 a modest white vote he could be a contender in a four-way race in which there i

s no runoff requirement . Coleman 's potential is harder to measure . He has bee

n advanced by Warner and others as a way to provide moderate Virginia Republican

s a palatable alternative in the general election to North . But Coleman already

 has lost three statewide races , and some Virginia strategists question his pot

ential to match North 's following among devout conservatives and voters from th

e religious right .

 RICHMOND , Va. Oliver L. North won Virginia 's Republican nomination for the U.

S. Senate Saturday , beating back a vigorous challenge from James C. Miller III 

and then launching a blistering attack on `` the tyranny of professional politic

ians . '' In a state party convention jammed with about 14,000 delegates , North

 won about 55 percent of the vote to Miller 's 45 percent . The theme music from

 the movie `` Rocky '' boomed through the Richmond Coliseum , as he acknowledged

 his victory and served strident notice of the way he would run this fall . `` V

irginians are sick and tired of a Congress run by back-slapping good old boys an

d a White House governed by a bunch of twentysomething kids with an earring and 

an axe to grind , '' he told roaring delegates . `` I 've got news for them . Th

ey will never see Ollie North crawling up the steps of Capitol Hill to kiss thei

r big fat rings . '' Flashing the gap-toothed grin made famous during his 1987 t

estimony before Congress on the Iran-Contra scandal , the retired Marine lieuten

ant colonel laid out the themes that advisers said will form the primary thrust 

of this , his first campaign . He attempted to link the Democratic incumbent , S

en. Charles S. Robb , with President Clinton , and cast himself as a renegade po

pulist waging a one-man war against `` the Washington establishment . '' `` Toda

y , we send the Clintons and their cronies a simple but unmistakable message , '

' he said . `` This is our government . You stole it . And we are going to take 

it back . But North 's 10-point victory margin fell short of the predictions his

 campaign made early this year and exposed his political weaknesses as he enters

 the general election . Despite spending more than $ 6 million on the race so fa

r , he ran well behind Miller in the critical urban centers of Northern Virginia

 , Richmond and Hampton Roads . North , 50 , also faces the immediate prospect o

f a revolt by members of his own party who consider him too conservative or unwo

rthy of support because of his role in the Iran-Contra affair . Former State Att

orney General J. Marshall Coleman is considering renouncing the GOP to run for t

he Senate as an independent . Coleman would not comment Saturday , but a key boo

ster said a petition drive to put him on the ballot has gathered more than 20,00

0 signatures , several thousand more than is needed . Along with Coleman , forme

r Gov. L. Douglas Wilder , a Democrat , is moving toward an independent candidac

y , setting up the prospect of a four-way Senate race this fall . The Democratic

 nominee will be chosen in a June 14 primary election , with Robb favored over t

hree challengers . Political analysts said Saturday that North 's core of intens

ely loyal supporters gives him a stong start in a contest with several candidate

s . But they said his poor showing in urban Virginia shows how hard it will be f

or him to expand his base . `` Ollie North has a very fervent following , but it

 will be a tall order for him to credibly appeal to voters in Northern Virginia 

, '' said Mark J. Rozell , a political scientist at Mary Washington College . ``

 He lost that vote even within his own party , among conservatives . '' As media

 from around the world recorded the partisan speeches and merrymaking of one of 

the largest nominating conventions in U.S. history , North 's ebullient supporte

rs took no notice of any losses . Their man played unashamedly on emotion and ad

renaline , and when he spoke , there was genuine electricity in the air . The Ma

rine Hymn preceded his first appearance on the podium , and after he concluded h

is nominating speech , his wife , Betsy , and three children joined him there . 

The voting started about 1:30 p.m. and continued for more than an hour . The are

na broke into booming cheers as soon as Fairfax County Board Chairman Thomas M. 

Davis III announced North 's tally and put him over the top . Miller , a former 

federal budget director who was given very little chance of winning early this y

ear , benefited substantially from anti-North sentiment . Many party activists s

aid Saturday that Miller 's campaign had gained credibility and skill in the con

test 's closing weeks . In the end , he won four of the state 's 11 congressiona

l districts . `` Give 'em credit , '' said Mark Goodin , a senior North adviser 

. `` They did a very good job . '' As he conceded the nomination , Miller , 51 ,

 pledged his support to North , but he was obviously shaken and dejected . `` I 

am hurt but I am not slain , '' he told the convention , quoting from a work he 

identified as `` The Ballad of Sir Andrew Barton . '' `` I will lay me down and 

bleed a while , '' Miller said . `` Then I will rise and fight again . '' Both m

en-onetime members of the Reagan administration-are expected to appear together 

here Sunday at a Republican `` unity breakfast , '' an occasion designed to demo

nstrate that the party is already beginning to heal its wounds . But the task of

 healing will be extremely difficult , and in some cases impossible . North hard

ly had finished his victory speech when one local party official from Nottoway C

ounty in Southside Virginia announced on the floor that he was resigning his pos

t . `` There is no way in hell I can support Ollie North , '' said Greg Eanes , 

35 , a 15-year Air Force veteran who is chairman of the 61st House of Delegates 

District GOP committee . Referring to North 's admitted lies before Congress , E

anes said , `` He betrayed the Constitution . '' Party officials played down the

 prospect of a rupture , saying that the vast majority of those attending would 

back North . Every delegate who attended Saturday 's convention signed a loyalty

 oath , pledging in advance to support the winner of the contest . Rep. Thomas J

. Bliley , of Richmond , was one of Miller 's strongest supporters . But after t

he vote he said that North `` will be a very charismatic candidate . He 'll camp

aign very hard , and he 'll have all the money he needs . '' Bliley predicted a 

tough race , but he said he believes North will win . What few people mentioned 

were the polls showing that North would lose badly against Robb . Some moderate 

Virginians have said they view him less as an anti-establishment hero than as a 

reckless ideologue . North 's rousing acceptance speech likely gave them and cer

tainly Democrats further concern . He railed about `` a liberal government that 

is up to its caboose in the peccadilloes and personal distractions of its presid

ent . '' He also made clear that he would not run from his past as a staff membe

r of Reagan 's National Security Council , a position in which he secretly negot

iated to trade arms in exchange for U.S. hostages . He called for new leadership

 in a boastful reference to his days on Reagan 's National Security Council and 

his role in trading arms to Iran for hostages : `` In our hearts , we know it 's

 just this simple : Our government is being held hostage a captive of the potent

ates of pork who live high on the hog off of big government . Well , I know some

thing about liberating hostages . '' Aides to North acknowledged after his victo

ry that his defeat in Virginia 's most populous areas is a significant problem f

or him . But they say North will overcome it by reintroducing himself to voters 

in those areas with a barrage of television advertising . North is on track to c

hallenge the all-time record for fund-raising by a Senate candidate , $ 12.5 mil

lion , and political observers expect him to be a formidable presence on the sta

te 's airwaves this fall . Despite the convention 's enthusiastic conclusion , t

he party 's differences were apparent . Sen. John W. Warner a 16-year Capitol Hi

ll veteran who is the party 's longest-serving and most popular statewide offici

al came under assault from party conservatives for his repeated criticisms of No

rth . But they failed in an effort to change party rules in a way that could dam

age his renomination prospects in 1996 . Warner was traveling in Europe Saturday

 and could not be reached for comment . He said recently that he would support a

 bid by Coleman , and he threatened to seek reelection himself as an independent

 in 1996 .

 SALT LAKE CITY In a triumphant but somber funeral , the world 's 8.8 million Mo

rmons bid farewell Saturday to Ezra Taft Benson , the Idaho `` plowboy '' who ro

se to become the 13th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sain

ts and the man whom the faithful considered to be God 's prophet on earth . Held

 in the Mormon Tabernacle , just a few yards from the historic Mormon Temple wit

h its heroic gilded statue of the angel Moroni blowing a trumpet atop a stylized

 Gothic steeple , the funeral drew an estimated 5,000 Mormons and others , and m

essages from President Clinton , Vice President Al Gore , U . N. Secretary-Gener

al Boutros Boutros-Ghali , Utah Gov. Michael O . Leavitt and other dignitaries .

 The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang several of Benson 's favorite hymns , includin

g `` Love at Home , '' and `` An Angel from on High . '' Benson , who served as 

Secretary of Agriculture in the Eisenhower administration and became president-p

rophet of the Mormon church in 1985 , died May 30 of congestive heart failure . 

He had been incapacitated for the past two years . He was 94 . Thousands of peop

le lined the highway between Salt Lake City and Whitney , Idaho , as the funeral

 procession made the two-hour drive to Benson 's birthplace . There , surrounded

 by the faithful , including his children , grandchildren and great grandchildre

n , he was buried in a rural cemetery beside his late wife , Flora , who died in

 August , 1992 . It was the only second time a president-prophet of the church h

ad been laid to rest outside the state of Utah . Former Los Angeles attorney How

ard W. Hunter , the most senior member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles , i

s expected to succeed Benson within a matter of days , church officials said . H

unter , 86 , who spoke with a sometimes frail voice and required assistance to r

each his chair and the podium , said Benson would be remembered for his love of 

the Book of Mormon . Hunter drew some appreciative laughter when he said that al

though Benson 's passing was a time of sadness , `` it thrills us to think of th

e joyful reunion President Benson is having with his beloved sweetheart , Flora 

, who has been waiting patiently or perhaps even a little impatiently for her hu

sband of 66 years to join her on the other side . '' Mormons believe in life aft

er death and that marriages are eternal . Tributes to Benson were numerous . Cli

nton hailed Benson as `` a spiritual man .. . and someone who believed the pries

tly idea that families come first . '' Thomas S. Monson , Mormon president and f

ormer second counselor to Benson , recalled Benson 's work in Europe following W

orld War II in bringing food and clothing to the hungry and homeless . He was ha

iled for his work with the Boy Scouts of America and for his ardent anti-communi

sm . Gordon B . Hinckley , another Mormon president and former first counselor t

o Benson , said he had no doubt that the sight of war-ravaged Europe and despera

te people was responsible for Benson 's outspoken anti-communism . Benson once o

ffered outspoken support for the ultraconservative John Birch Society . ( Begin 

optional trim ) `` I am confident that it was out of what he saw of the bitter f

ruit of dictatorship that he developed his strong feelings , almost hatred , for

 communism and socialism , '' Hinckley said . Over the years , however , Benson 

directed his fullest attention to the church . During his eight years as preside

nt , he stressed the importance of missionary work and for his exhortations to M

ormons to read the church 's sacred Scripture , the Book of Mormon and pattern t

heir lives after the prophets and Jesus Christ . He had been a force within the 

denomination since 1943 when he became an apostle , a high-ranking position in t

he church 's all-male hierarchy . ( End optional trim ) But the recurring theme 

Saturday was that of a simple farm boy who rose to political greatness and spiri

tual heights . `` The plowboy who became God 's prophet has gone home , '' Monso

n said . Moments later , Hinckley returned to that theme . `` He was a farm boy 

, literally and truly , an overall-clad , sunburned boy who at a very early age 

came to know the law of the harvest : ` Whatsoever a man soweth , that shall he 

also reap ' , '' Hinckley said , quoting from Galatians 6:7 . The funeral servic

e was broadcast by satellite to 3,000 church locations throughout the United Sta

tes and the world .

 BUENOS AIRES , Argentina When ABC Television aired Sam Donaldson 's in-your-fac

e interview with Erich Priebke early in May , the American network not only reve

aled the presence of an accused Gestapo war criminal in southern Argentina . It 

also put a prime-time spotlight on this South American country 's shadowy role a

s a haven for World War II Nazis . Priebke , a former German SS captain who part

icipated in the execution of 335 Italian civilians in 1944 , has lived peacefull

y and quietly in Argentina since 1948 . He and hundreds of other Nazis who came 

to South America after the war found anonymity and security , precious commoditi

es for men who were hated and hunted elsewhere in the world . How Third Reich ki

llers and collaborators were able to hide out in this country is now becoming in

creasingly clear : In the past two years , the Argentine government has opened p

reviously secret archives to researchers who want to trace the steps of Nazis in

 this country . And as the painstaking research proceeds , under the auspices of

 Argentina 's Jewish community , it is turning up documents that detail a histor

ical pattern of tolerance and complicity on behalf of fugitive Nazis . `` There 

was a network of protection if not legal , at least bought that made it very dif

ficult to find them and bring them to justice , '' says Ruben Beraja , leader of

 the Delegation of Argentine Israelites Associations , which is sponsoring the r

esearch dubbed Project Testimony . Exactly how the protective systems worked and

 who was involved has long been a subject of speculation . Nazi-hunters have dis

covered some of the puzzle 's pieces over the years as they tracked down war cri

minals in Argentina , including the notorious Adolf Eichmann . But important inf

ormation in the form of official documents diplomatic notes , police reports , a

dministrative memoranda was largely out of reach until Project Testimony . Altho

ugh the documents uncovered have yet to be catalogued and cross-referenced , res

earchers showed the Los Angeles Times copies of hundreds of pages containing int

riguing information on notable Nazi figures . Many of the documents show that Na

zis entered Argentina with travel papers issued by the International Red Cross ,

 reinforcing allegations of Red Cross negligence or complicity in the flight of 

Nazi war criminals to South America . Red Cross officials now say that it was no

t the organization 's job to investigate applicants for travel documents . An Ar

gentine Federal Police memorandum from 1964 notes that death-camp doctor Josef M

engele `` entered the country on 20 May , 1949 , carrying passport No. 100,501 ,

 issued by the International Red Cross in the name of Gregor Helmut . '' That do

cument also shows that German authorities were also careless , at the very least

 , in Mengele 's case . `` In November of 1956 , '' the memo says , `` he presen

ted his birth certificate with his true name , certified by the Embassy of the F

ederal German Republic in our country , and requested the rectification of his n

ame and surname . '' Argentine authorities issued him a new identification card 

with his real name . Mengele was known as the `` Angel of Death '' for his role 

in the extermination of thousands of Jews at the Auschwitz death camp , where he

 performed experiments on prisoners . Other documents found by Project Testimony

 say Mengele practiced medicine here , reportedly specializing in illegal aborti

ons . One paper explains Argentina 's refusal to arrest Mengele for extradition 

because `` the crimes attributed to the subject are political in nature . '' An 

order for his arrest was finally issued in 1961 , but he was never found . Menge

le later lived under another name in neighboring Brazil , where he drowned at an

 Atlantic resort in 1979 , according to Brazilian authorities and international 

investigators . Another Nazi war criminal who came to Argentina was Josef Schwam

mberger , an SS sergeant who participated in thousands of killings as the comman

der of Jewish slave labor camps in southeastern Poland during the war . An Argen

tine police document says Schwammberger entered the country in 1949 . The only N

azi war criminal ever extradited from Argentina , Schwammberger was convicted in

 Germany and sentenced to life in prison in 1992 . In several notable cases , Ar

gentine authorities have refused to extradite Nazi war criminals . In 1947 , for

 example , the Communist government of the former Yugoslavia requested the extra

dition of Ante Pavelic , a former Croatian leader and Nazi collaborator , for wa

r crimes . A previously secret Argentine Foreign Ministry document recommended r

efusal . `` The ` war crime ' is what we could call a recent juridical creation 

.. . akin to that of political crime , '' the document said . `` Argentine legis

lation only contemplates extradition for common crimes , and it prohibits it for

 political crimes . '' ( Begin optional trim ) A June 1947 letter from the U.S. 

. Embassy in Buenos Aires asked Argentina not to admit Milan Stoyadinovich , a p

ro-Nazi former premier of Yugoslavia . On Sept. 22 , a man named Branko Benzon a

sked Director of Migration Pablo Diana to allow Stoyadinovich and his family to 

enter Argentina . The next day , Diana authorized the entry . According to Proje

ct Testimony , the Yugoslav-born Benzon was a member of a secret commission that

 advised Diana 's office on entrance permits for refugees from Europe , and the 

commission 's members were natives of European countries who frequently made rec

ommendations in favor of Nazis . Project Testimony is preparing to release a doc

ument that shows how the commission played a key role in influencing immigration

 policy on behalf of fleeing Nazis . ( End optional trim ) Admiration for German

y was widespread in South American countries during the 1930s . President Juan P

eron , who governed Argentina with an authoritarian hand from 1946 to 1955 , has

 been accused of neo-Nazi tendencies an accusation heatedly denied by Peronists 

. Project Testimony coordinator Beatriz Gurevich emphasized that Argentina was n

ot the only Nazi haven and not all Argentine officials were pro-Nazi . `` It wou

ld be mistaken to think that in Argentina there was a generalized anti-Jewish an

d pro-Nazi attitude , because it wasn't so , '' she said . Some documents uncove

red by Project Testimony have shown that some Argentine diplomats in Europe help

ed protect Jews from persecution before and during the war . Others , however , 

denied visas to Jews and helped Nazis after the war . Argentine diplomats in Chi

na sold visas to Jews and Nazis alike for up to $ 2,500 , according to researche

rs . In the Foreign Ministry files , researchers have discovered a 1946 note fro

m the U.S. . Embassy that speaks of large-scale efforts to sneak Nazis into Arge

ntina . `` There exists a concerted plan to arrange the clandestine departure fr

om Spain and entry into Argentina of former German agents , '' the note says . `

` It appears that it is becoming increasingly difficult for such German agents i

n Spain to remain concealed and that , as a consequence , some 150 to 200 German

s expect to come to Argentina under false identification . '' ( Begin optional t

rim ) Project Testimony is being carried out by a handful of researchers . Gurev

ich keeps copies of some key documents in her office but often is unable to loca

te requested papers . Only one researcher is assigned to the laborious work of e

ntering all the data in computers . Research in the government archives is labor

ious . Uncounted boxes of documents , often in disorder and without indexes , re