WAR ON IRAK

Reuters: US Said Prepared to Pay 'High Price' to Oust Saddam

AS SAYLIYA CAMP, Qatar (Reuters) - The United States is prepared to pay a "very high price" in terms of casualties to capture Baghdad and oust President Saddam Hussein, a senior official of the U.S. Central Command said Monday.

"We're prepared to pay a very high price because we are not going to do anything other than ensure that this regime goes away," the official told reporters, adding that U.S. casualties in the 12-day-old war had so far been "fairly" light.

"If that means there will be a lot of casualties, then there will be a lot of casualties," said the official, who spoke on condition that he not be named.

"Leider bleibt den Amerikanern gar nichts Anderes übrig als einen sehr hohen Preis für die Entmachtung Sadaam Husseins zu zahlen. Sollten sie dieses Ziel nicht erreichen haben sie ein zweites Vietnam und andere Reierungen könnten auf die Idee kommen Befehle aus Washington nicht mehr auszuführen."