Around half of Iraq's army is incapable of working with the US to recapture territory from Islamic State (IS) in western and northern Iraq, according to the top US military officer.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that military teams that spent much of the summer in Iraq assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the security forces found that only 26 of 50 army brigades were capable partners for the US.
Gen Dempsey, a former wartime commander of US training programmes in the country, described them as well led and well equipped, adding: "They appear to have a national instinct, instead of a sectarian instinct."
These would still need to be partially rebuilt with US training and more equipment, he added.
The other 24 other brigades were found to be too dominated by Shias to be part of a credible national force.
Shiite fighters, who have joined the battle against IS, train in Najaf Gen Dempsey was speaking with reporters travelling with him to Paris to meet with his French counterpart for talks on the conflicts in Syria and Iraq and other issues.
The trip followed on from Gen Dempsey's appearance in front of a Senate panel, when he said US ground forces could be deployed again in Iraq.
The four-star general said they could be sent to provide close combat advice or accompany Iraqi troops on any future mission to recapture the city of Mosul from the militants.
His remarks were soon contradicted by the White House's spokesman however, who said President Barack Obama "will not deploy ground troops in a combat role into Iraq or Syria".
Meanwhile, IS released a video warning the US that fighters await it in Iraq if troops are sent there.
Kurdish peshmerga troops participate in a security deployment against IS The 52-second clip, entitled "Flames of War", shows fighters destroying tanks, wounded US soldiers and others about to be killed.
It includes a clip of Mr Obama saying combat troops will not return to Iraq, ending with a text overlay that reads "fighting has just begun".
Renewed US efforts to train Iraqi troops could revive the issue of gaining legal immunity from Iraqi prosecution for US troops who are training them, Gen Dempsey said on his way to France.
The last Iraqi government refused to give immunity to US troops who might have stayed behind as trainers after the US military mission ended in December 2011.
Gen Dempsey also warned that US firepower alone would not be enough to stop IS.
Islamic State fighters have seized large parts of Iraq and Syria The solution, he said, hinged on the formation of an Iraqi government that is able to convince Kurds and Sunnis that they will be equal partners with the Shiites.
"I'm telling you, if that doesn't happen then it's time for Plan B," he said, without saying what that would entail.
The US launched airstrikes on IS last month, and Gen Dempsey said fighters from the extemist group will have reacted to the strikes by making themselves less visible.
He predicted they would "literally litter the road networks" with improvised explosive devices in the days ahead.
That would then mean more counter-IED training and equipment for Iraq's army, Gen Dempsey said.
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