In many host nations, the VFA can become a major political issue following crimes allegedly committed by visiting service members.
The political issue of VFAs is complicated by the fact that many host countries have mixed feelings about foreign troops on their soil, and demands to renegotiate the VFA are often combined with calls for foreign troops to leave entirely.
for example, feel that host country justice systems grant a much weaker set of protections to the accused than the U.S. and that host country courts can be subject to popular pressure to deliver a guilty verdict; furthermore, that American servicemembers ordered to a foreign posting should not be forced to give up the rights they are afforded under the United States Bill of Rights.
[citation needed] One host country where such sentiment is widespread, South Korea, itself has forces in Kyrgyzstan and has negotiated a SOFA that confers total immunity to its servicemembers from prosecution by Kyrgyz authorities for any crime whatsoever,[1] something far in excess of the privileges many South Koreans object to in their nation's SOFA with the U.S.[citation needed] To many U.S.
the fact that most accused criminals eventually end up being tried in a local court and found guilty proves that the system is working; to some host country observers,[who?]