This past weekend two members of the Clinton cabinet asserted that a major air campaign against Iraq may be likely.

Both Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Secretary of Defense William Cohen called on Iraq to admit U.N. weapons inspectors back into the country or face a determined and forceful military effort.

This crisis is rapidly developing behind the backdrop of a more newsworthy issue: the Clinton sex scandal.

Some are claiming that the president could be using the Iraq situation to deflect attention away from his alleged affair with White House intern Monica Lewinski. Even Saddam Hussein has told his citizens that Clinton will attack for this very reason.

Clinton’s innocence or guilt is not the issue at the moment. We must assume like all other citizens that he is innocent and allow him and the government to do their job.

The Iraq situation has deteriorated considerably in the past couple of months. It appeared the U.N. weapons inspection team was beginning to make progress in exposing Iraq’s growing chemical and biological weapons program.

Some reports indicated that inspectors had even found evidence of these weapons being tested on human guinea pigs.

Iraq still shows no signs of yielding to diplomatic or economic pressure. As we saw in the Persian Gulf war, however, they do respond to violent and overwhelming force.

Recent history tells us Hussein’s pattern of behavior. He thumbs his nose at U.S. and U.N. demands, then right as military action is imminent, complies with lesser demands to prevent an attack. This pattern has grown tiresome, and the world community needs to make Saddam aware of that.

The president is right to force Iraq’s compliance with U.N. sanctions. To allow the Lewinski affair to interfere with American foreign policy would set a dangerous precedent.

Iraq must be dealt with forcefully, and the United States has an obligation to act.

We must allow the president in his role as commander in chief to fulfill that obligation.