The law does not apply

Here's a good one:

Contractors accompanying U.S. military forces in Iraq or elsewhere who commit crimes may be beyond the reach of law enforcement...because the Defense Department has not yet updated its regulations to conform to a Congressional mandate, resulting in a "gap" in legal jurisdiction...

Although legislation last year expanded military law enforcement to cover contractors, the Defense Department has yet to issue regulations implementing the legislation.

As it turns out, in an undeclared war, the Uniform Code of Military Justice does not apply, and, unless the host country is cooperative in prosecuting, no one has the right to prosecute.

So, just why do you suppose the DOD has failed to issue regulations implementing the legislation that would enable them to bring contractors under the rule of law? I have any number of hypotheses. Included among them are these:

1) We can let the contractors perpetrate the torture. That way nobody will get punished for their war crimes.

2) Halliburton (and others like Blackwater) didn't want any restrictions on its activities, so Cheney told the DOD not to pursue the new regulations.

3) The whole crowd running our government don't believe that any laws apply to them, so why should they apply to their friends?