Does Trump Plan Drone Attacks on the Netherlands?

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that the United States will revoke or deny visas issued to International Criminal Court members who’ve been investigating possible war crimes committed by the U.S. military, The Associated Press reports.

Pompeo also threatened investigators with sanctions, and noted that the rules would also apply to members who investigated American allies without the U.S.’s consent.

The U.S. has already taken action against an unspecified number of members, he said. “We are determined to protect the American and allied military and civilian personnel from living in fear of unjust prosecution for actions taken to defend our great nation.



two lovers, top ICC targets

” The blockbuster announcement comes after years of tension between Trump and the ICC: last September, National Security Advisor John Bolton threatened sanctions against ICC judges if they continued probing alleged American war crimes in Afghanistan; Pompeo’s announcement appears to finally make good on that promise.

The ICC has spent a decade investigating the Taliban’s alleged war crimes in the Middle East—but in 2017, a prosecutor requested authorization to investigate the alleged by U.S. intelligence and service members during the war, too. Palestine has also asked the court to probe alleged human rights violations committed by Israel, a close U.S. ally.

read more at Daily Beast and from Russia Today:

In an effort to threaten everyone into not investigating US or Israeli war crimes in the International Criminal Court, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says anyone involved in such probes will lose their visa and may be sanctioned.

The Washington war hawk said that action had to be taken because any investigation into alleged war crimes and torture committed by the United States would be a threat to US rule of law. Visas will be pulled or denied for anyone who has been involved in or even requested an ICC investigation of “any US personnel.”

The ICC is currently mulling over a request to investigate possible war crimes committed by the US in Afghanistan in the course of the nearly 20-year conflict which has left over 100,000 Afghans dead. The international court prosecutor’s office says it has “reasonable basis” to believe that “war crimes and crimes against humanity” were, and continue to be, committed by foreign government forces in Afghanistan.

Pompeo openly stated that the action was intended to get the court to drop the potential investigation, and that Washington was ready to further increase the pressure if they don’t do as he says.

“We are prepared to take additional steps, including economic sanctions, if the ICC does not change course,” he said.

The court responded later in the day saying they would continue their work “undeterred” by Pompeo’s aggressive statement, and act in accordance with international law rather than Washington’s threats.

An independent and impartial judicial institution [is] crucial for ensuring accountability for the gravest crimes under international law.

Following up on National Security Advisor John Bolton’s threats against the court last year, Pompeo said that action had already been taken against members of the Hague-based court for daring to look into potential crimes committed by the US abroad. He declined to name any names or reveal how many people had been targeted.

“We are determined to protect the American and allied military and civilian personnel from living in fear of unjust prosecution for actions taken to defend our great nation,” he declared.

Washington also stepped up to protect its close ally Israel from the threat of prosecution for crimes against Palestinians.

“These visa restrictions may also be used to deter ICC efforts to pursue allied personnel, including Israelis, without allied consent,” he continued.

While the US signed the initial document which created the international court in 2000, it has since refused to actually become a member, and many American politicians see the court’s ability to hold the country accountable for its actions abroad as a threat to national sovereignty. Bolton later “unsigned” the document altogether.

 

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Israel Lover Trump is a pathological liar along with stooges Pompeo and Bolton. Most of the invading and trespassing and criminal actions of the Pentagon have never been approved by Congress or if so done in illegal secret criminal courts illegally imposed following the false flag attack by Israel on 9/11/01. Nearly the entire U.S. Government needs to be arrested indicted and tried for treason including all the four star generals but there is no one in our corrupt government with the balls to do the job. Bush and Cheney also must be arrested and brought to justice.

  2. American hubris on steroids. Amazing gall. I’m guessing someone, maybe a nation, has very solid material to blackmail Trump, and has used it cause the appointment of John Bolton to an office he obviously is I’ll equipped to hold. Is anyone paying attention?

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