Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama met Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as the United States prepares to complete withdrawing virtually all of its troops from Iraq by the end of the year.
The two leaders are expected to discuss cooperation between their countries in the wake of the ongoing troop withdrawal, which is scheduled to be finished by December 31.
Some analysts fear violence could spike as groups struggle over power, and that the decreased U.S. presence could allow Iran to increase its influence.
After their Oval Office meeting, Obama and al-Maliki will hold a news conference and then participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
As of Sunday, 6,000 U.S. troops and four U.S. military bases remained in Iraq, according to Col. Barry Johnson, spokesman for the United States Forces in Iraq.
The four bases are:
-- Kalsu in Iskandariya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad
-- Echo in Diwaniya, about 111 miles south of Baghdad
-- Adder near Nasiriya, about 198 miles southeast of Baghdad
-- Basra in Basra, about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad
Iraq faces many challenges as U.S. troops pull out, ranging from human rights issues to oil deals to national stability.
Meghan O'Sullivan, a Bush administration deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan from 2004 to 2007, wrote that there is "reason to worry" in a recent analysis for Foreign Affairs posted on CNN's Global Public Square blog.
"The foundations of the Iraqi state remain shallow. Divisions within Iraq's ruling elite run deep," wrote O'Sullivan, now a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. "A continued U.S. military presence would not have guaranteed peace and prosperity, but its removal increases the risks of failure in Iraq by eliminating the psychological backstop to a still delicate political system and by kicking open the door more widely to foreign interference."
U.S. officials have insisted that the drastic pullback of troops does not mean an end to the U.S. government's presence in Iraq.
"We are absolutely committed to be your partner to the extent you want us to be," Vice President Joe Biden told al-Maliki during a visit to Iraq earlier this month. "We stand ready to provide assistance."
The move is the start of "a new chapter" in the United States' relationship with Iraq, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said shortly after Obama announced the withdrawal in October.
Toner noted substantial improvements in the capabilities of the Iraqis, even as he admitted the continued importance of addressing "security needs" of the hundreds of non-military U.S. personnel who will remain there.
That includes about 1,700 diplomats, law enforcement officers and various economic, agriculture and other professionals and experts who will be in Iraq into 2012, according to the State Department. In addition, 5,000 security contractors will protect the U.S. diplomats and another 4,500 contractors will serve other roles, such as helping provide food and medical services, until they can be done locally.
Future U.S. involvement in training for Iraqi troops is also a possibility, U.S. officials have said.
"We will continue discussions on how we might help Iraq train and equip its forces -- again, just as we offer training and assistance to countries around the world," Obama said in October.
Earlier this month, al-Maliki said Iraq was becoming a more stable country. He said all Iraqis should be proud of what has been achieved, adding that it was not a success for any particular party, sect or ethnicity.
Al-Maliki made the comments during a ceremony honoring the sacrifices of both U.S. and Iraqi troops.
But the prime minister noted that Iraqis have paid a huge price in lives and property.
Officials and analysts have said the impact of the U.S. presence will echo for years to come.
"Iraqis, Americans and the world ultimately will judge us far more on the basis of what will happen than what has happened," former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said in 2008 congressional testimony. "In the end, how we leave and what we leave behind will be more important than how we came."
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