Your laws do not apply to me

I'm not a law expert, but it seems that if this defense works, it's not going to matter what torture laws are approved or whether the Geneva Conventions apply to a certain group. It'll be bedlam everywhere:

A former Special Forces soldier charged with beating an Afghan detainee who later died says federal courts should not have jurisdiction in his case because he was working outside the country at the time of his alleged crime.

Lawyers for David A. Passaro, 38, contend that provisions of the U.S. Patriot Act approved after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 should not apply in places where special operations forces and CIA paramilitary operatives work.

The argument came in filing in U.S. District Court in Raleigh that said charges against Passaro should be dismissed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James Candelmo said the government disputes the argument and wants the defense motion denied.

Passaro, a former Hartford, Conn., police officer was hired as a contractor by the CIA in 2003.

He was charged in June with four counts of assault, accused of beating Abdul Wali with his hands, feet and a flashlight as he tried to get information about planned rocket attacks on U.S. forces. Wali died in his cell in Asadabad on June 21, 2003, but Passaro is not charged with his death.