"They are in a position from which there is no escape," he said.
Iraq did prove it retains surface-to-air firepower, shooting down a Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday near the city of Karbala, 80km south of Baghdad.
A Navy F/A-18C Hornet also was downed; military officials in Washington said the plane was hit by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile, but US Central Command in Qatar said yesterday the cause wasn't known.
A search was under way the pilot of the Hornet, which went down while on a bombing mission launched from the carrier USS Kitty Hawk. Seven of the soldiers aboard the Black Hawk were killed, while four were injured and rescued.
Lowering expectations
Despite the successful push toward Baghdad, senior US commanders sought to lower expectations of an imminent takeover of the capital.
"We are planning for a very difficult fight ahead in Baghdad," Major General Stanley McChrystal said Wednesday at the Pentagon. "We are not expecting to drive into Baghdad suddenly and seize it."
The US forces may soon face a choice between continuing their advance into the city of 5 million, with the possibility of costly street fighting, or waiting for reinforcements while giving Iraqis a chance to challenge Saddam's regime themselves.
"We hope that ultimately the regime will realize how ridiculous it is to continue with this effort, [and] surrender en masse," Lockwood said.
In northern Iraq, government forces retreated in several areas, and abandoned hundreds of bunkers and command centers east of the city of Mosul.
Thousands of local residents streamed into the vacated positions, taking away metal sinks, chairs, pieces of wood and other items.
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