Michele Flournoy (floor-noy), the top policy aide to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, said in an interview that the talks are expected to start in a month or two.
The U.S. military completed its troop withdrawal in December. Unresolved is the question of what U.S.-Iraqi security ties will look like in the future, and whether Iraq can defend itself without more robust military assistance.
Flournoy spoke to reporters last week; she's stepping down from her post Friday.
