President Trump signed an executive order Thursday authorizing sanctions against officials of the International Criminal Court over its investigation into whether U.S. troops committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
Top administration officials said the U.S. believes Russia is behind the ICC’s actions targeting American troops for prosecution.
“We are concerned that foreign powers like Russia are manipulating the ICC in pursuit of their own agenda,” said Attorney General William Barr.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the ICC a “kangaroo court” and said the European body is waging “an ideological crusade against American service members” who were engaged in counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan.
“Making sure this doesn’t happen is the essence of ’America First’ foreign policy,” Mr. Pompeo said.
The order authorizes Mr. Pompeo, in consultation with Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, to block assets in the U.S. of ICC employees involved in the probe. Mr. Pompeo also can block the targeted individuals from entering the U.S.
Mr. Pompeo said decisions on sanctions will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Defense Secretary Mike Esper and Mr. Pompeo said the U.S. has a much more effective system of military justice to punish wrongdoers.
“Ultimately our justice system ensures that our people are held to account under the United States Constitution, not the International Criminal Court or other overreaching inter-governmental bodies,” Mr. Esper said. “Moreover, there is no other force more disciplined and committed to compliance with the laws of war than the United States military, which has made lasting contributions to the cause of justice and accountability in armed conflict.”
The White House said the U.S. “has repeatedly rejected the International Criminal Court’s assertions of jurisdiction over United States personnel.”
“The International Criminal Court’s actions are an attack on the rights of the American people and threaten to infringe upon our national sovereignty,” said White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. “The International Criminal Court was established to provide accountability for war crimes, but in practice, it has been an unaccountable and ineffective international bureaucracy that targets and threatens United States personnel as well as personnel of our allies and partners.”
The ICC decided to investigate after prosecutors’ preliminary review in 2017 determined that war crimes may have been committed in Afghanistan and that the court has jurisdiction.
The ICC is based in The Hague in the Netherlands. Mr. Trump has repeatedly challenged the court’s right to prosecute U.S. personnel without American consent.
Ten nations on the U.N. Security Council that are parties to the ICC accord, including the Britain, Germany and France, issued a statement on Wednesday of “unwavering support for the court as an independent and impartial judicial institution.”
“We reiterate our commitment to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the [ICC accord] and to preserve its integrity undeterred by any threats against the court, its officials and those cooperating with it,” their joint statement said.
Mr. Pompeo issued a warning to U.S. allies about the ICC’s reach: “Your people could be next, especially those from NATO countries who fought terrorism in Afghanistan right alongside of us.”
He said the U.S. also is “gravely concerned” about a threatened ICC investigation of Israel’s security actions in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.
“Given Israel’s robust civilian and military legal system and strong track record of investigating and prosecuting wrongdoing by military personnel, it’s clear the ICC is only putting Israel in its crosshairs for nakedly political purposes,” Mr. Pompeo said.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, Vermont Democrat, said the announcement of sanctions “is predictable from a president whose idea of justice is to encourage the police to abuse prisoners, pardon his friends, and override the Pentagon in cases of military justice.”
He said the ICC “has successfully prosecuted some of the world’s worst war criminals, and has done so judiciously and professionally.”
“War crimes and crimes against humanity occur in all wars, just as police brutality occurs in all countries,” Mr. Leahy said. “The ICC only has jurisdiction if a government fails to prosecute violations of the laws of war by its own soldiers. The United States cannot profess to stand for accountability and refuse to be accountable itself, especially when it involves egregious crimes like torturing prisoners.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.