“If we get three heavy divisions, plus the 101st and a Marine division, they will manhandle the Iraqi military in 21 days,”

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert H. Scales Jr., a former artillery commander in the 82nd Airborne who also headed the Army War College, said he hopes — but isn’t convinced — that the invasion force being contemplated is large enough that Iraqi commanders will believe the United States has enough combat power to overthrow Hussein.

“You’ve almost got to put yourself in the shoes of an Iraqi general who says, ‘I have two alternatives here: remain loyal to Saddam Hussein, for fear that he will shoot my family, or trust once the Americans cross the border that they have the will not only to fight against me, but carry the campaign to Baghdad and Tikrit and take care of my boss,’ ” Scales said. Tikrit, a city northwest of Baghdad, is the ancestral home of Hussein and the base of his power.