“On February 25, [2003, U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Eric] Shinseki and his fellow chiefs went before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which was probing the preparations for the all but certain [Iraq] war. During the proceedings, Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, asked Shinseki how many troops would be needed to control Iraq after Saddam was ousted. Shinseki noted that he was not in the chain of command, but matter-of-factly said that it would take several hundred thousand. The lawmakers did not ask any follow-up questions. Shinseki’s comment, however, suggested that the invasion and occupation of Iraq might be a more demanding undertaking that the [Bush] administration had indicated and generated headlines.”
– Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor, Cobra II, Page 117