JAG CENTRAL

From The BBC, this story about the Army pilots accused of smuggling cocaine from Columbia (which I first told you about in this post):

Colombian senators have been calling for the men, who were based in the country, to be extradited from the US.

But US ambassador William Wood said the soldiers are immune from prosecution.

More than 200 Colombian citizens have been extradited to the US to face trial for drug trafficking, under a bilateral deal between the two countries.

Colombian politicians have asked the government to push for the US to hand over the men, arguing that the extradition agreement works both ways.

ANALYSIS: That's big talk from Columbian politicians, but in reality the government had no choice. Our military presence in Columbia is governed by a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). SOFA's generally provide that US soldiers will only be tried by American courts-martial, not by local courts. This is in exclusion to any extradition treaty that may apply to American civilians.