Lieutenant General Babaker Zerbari, the chief of staff of Iraq's armed forces, has said his country's army will not be ready to assume control over security until 2020 and that US troops should stay until then.
But US officials say there is no chance the United States will deviate from its planned withdrawal of combat troops by the end of this month.
Even Iraqi military officials disagree about the country's readiness.
Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh reports from Baghdad.