The author presents a quantitative estimate of photon absorption cross sections due to forced dipole excitation in noble gas atoms by intense CO₂ laser pulses. The cross sections for Xe, Kr, Ar and Ne are calculated using a dynamic model in which the electron cloud of a complex atom is treated as an inhomogeneous gas. The cross sections are used to obtain the saturation intensities in noble gas atoms at two CO₂ laser frequencies, h(cross) omega =0.118 and 0.130 eV. A comparison with observed experimental saturation intensities, for an estimated effective interaction time of about 0.2 ps, shows remarkably close agreement between the predictions of the model and the data.