Iraq withholds immunity for U.S. troops

BAGHDAD, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Iraq is reluctant to offer legal immunity to U.S. troops who stay in the country to help with the rebuilding effort, political observers said.

Iraqi officials said this week U.S. military troops are needed to help train Iraqi security forces. The United States, however, has said no troops will remain after the end of the year unless they are given immunity from prosecution, The New York Times reported Friday.

Immunity is a sticking point for Iraqis who have not forgotten the abuse reports from inside Abu Ghraib prison and alleged abuses by private contractors.

The Times said political leaders in Iraq are conflicted over the need for help in rebuilding the country and pressure from the Iraqi public to end the U.S. military presence.

"They loved being liberated from Saddam Hussein but they hated being occupied by a foreign force," Joost Hiltermann, deputy program director with the International Crisis Group, told the newspaper. "They have always been so conflicted about this."

About 48,000 U.S. troops are legally mandated to be out of Iraq by the end of this year.