Iraq is refusing to back down from possible U.S.- led military strikes after it says it will no longer allow United Nation Arms Inspectors to inspect possible chemical and biological weapons plants.

The United States has ships steaming toward the Gulf and is bolstering its Air Force as it sends 12 B-52 bombers on Thursday and plans to send B-1 bombers, Stealth Fighters and AWACS radar planes in the next couple days.

As the military build-up continues in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. and the United Nations are deciding on their next move in the decade- long chess game with Saddam Hussein and Iraq.

Here we go again.

In 1991, President Bush led the United States and its allies to victory in the Gulf War.

Coming to the aid of the resource-rich Kuwait, the United States swiftly put down the Iraqi Army, and U.N. sanctions soon followed.

For the last eight years after the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein has been playing a cat-and-mouse game with the U.N.

Hussein has shown cooperation but has always resisted soon after.

Iraq has taken us to the brink of war countless times but has always backed away just in time to resolve the conflict.

Showing no signs of backing down, Iraq’s latest refusal of U.N. weapons inspection merits a military strike according to the Clinton administration and Pentagon officials.

Even U.N. sources, who were able to broker a deal in February, have said that “a deal looks very unlikely.”

After giving Iraq every option other than force for the last eight years, it is time for a military strike.

Iraq poses a great threat to the Middle East and the rest of the world if it is allowed to continue its biological and nuclear weapons programs.

Military action by the U.S. and its Allies is the only logical option left.

If we do not make a stand now, Hussein will continue to monkey around with the U.N. and will continue to build his weapons of mass destruction. This is not an option for the U.S. and the U.N.

For too long we have been playing along and optimistically hoping for an end to the conflict. It is time for the U.S. and the U.N to end this ordeal once and for all.

One strike and end it. Get Hussein out of power so he can no longer threaten the well-being of the Middle East; so long-lasting peace can finally be realized.