Kevin, I hope and believe that you are wrong about the scale of the losses.
Last time his soldiers mostly were not prepared to fight for him. I do not think they love him more now. The attack on the Basra road was tragically not stopped in time, but I trust that lessons have been learned.
The eyes of the world will be on us, and Saddam ready to exploit every civillian casualty. That alone would force the allies to go to all lengths to keep the people safe.