Public/political will would not tolerate in excess of 5000 casualties - period.

Public/Political will would not tolerate the reinstatement of the draft for a longterm stay in Iraq.

Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney et al., created a plan that has worked. We are still there, Saddam is gone, the oil fields are secure and pumping oil for US buyers, we have less than 5000 casualties and we haven't required a draft.

Win. Win. Win. Win. Win.

Looking at it any other way is what Totafinaelf and its media surrogates want you to do. In retrospect, when this conflict is described by apolitical historians, it will point out how it proved that a nation's leadership regime could be displaced for far less than 5000 casualties, X amount of dollars, no nuclear weapons in an area we had the least access to of almost anyplace on Earth. Translation: money, political will and a careful plan can displace your enemies even when they are out of your reach.

Compared to WWII and every other war in history, and in a post-nuclear world, that's an amazing accomplishment.