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US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has indicated he may halt troop reductions in Iraq after up to 30,000 American soldiers are sent home this summer.
The Pentagon aims to draw down troop numbers Iraq from 20 to 15 brigades. One brigade has already left and the last of the five is due to go by July.
After meeting the US commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, Mr Gates said he wanted a "period of evaluation".
Mr Gates has previously expressed hope 10 brigades could remain by year's end.
He told reporters at a US base in Baghdad on Monday: "A brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense.
"In my own thinking I had been kind of headed in that direction as well," he added.
"But one of the keys is how long is that period (of pause and evaluation) and then what happens after that."
The Pentagon aims to draw down troop numbers Iraq from 20 to 15 brigades. One brigade has already left and the last of the five is due to go by July.
After meeting the US commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, Mr Gates said he wanted a "period of evaluation".
Mr Gates has previously expressed hope 10 brigades could remain by year's end.
He told reporters at a US base in Baghdad on Monday: "A brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense.
"In my own thinking I had been kind of headed in that direction as well," he added.
"But one of the keys is how long is that period (of pause and evaluation) and then what happens after that."