"We ought to be able to do it (take Baghdad) ... clearly it's going to be brutal, dangerous work and we could take, bluntly, a couple to 3,000 casualties. ... it ought to be a very dicey two to three day battle out there."

] "In the process if they (the Iraqis) actually fight, and
] that's one of the assumptions, clearly it's going to be
] brutal, dangerous work and we could take, bluntly, a
] couple to 3,000 casualties," said McCaffrey who became
] one of the most senior ranking members of the U.S.
] military following the 1991 war.
]
] "So if they (the Americans and British) are unwilling to
] face up to that, we may have a difficult time of it
] taking down Baghdad and Tikrit up to the north west."
]
] McCaffrey said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had
] misjudged the nature of the conflict. Asked if Rumsfeld
] made a mistake by not sending more troops to start the
] offensive, McCaffrey replied: "Yes, sure. I think
] everybody told him that."