I am always surprised how the complexities of these discussions rattle around in my head keeping me wake at night (probably because I am a “keep it simple” person). I also feel strongly that the US Rules of Law do not apply to combat, especially when outside of the US borders. Let me make an argument here (as he pulls out my soap box) and this gets back to the Rules of Law vs the Laws of War. Under the Laws of War, people are either civilians or combatants. A civilian’s status changes to a combatant once they pick up a gun. The Blackwater folks, under the Laws of War, are combatants for this reason. Under US Law (Goldwater-Nichols), only one person in the region has Combat Command authority and they are (what we use to call) the CINC but now call the Combat Commander. It seems to me, that jurisdiction of combatants must fall under the authority of the Combat Commander (no matter who they work for in country). The Blackwater crew should therefore, be charge using the UCMJ for the violations of the Laws of War for killing civilians. Granted this argument has never been made but it seems to me that the defense lawyers should be disputing the charges on those grounds.