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Article Review: US Must Remain Wary of International Criminal Court even after Decision to Not Target Americans

Saul Loeb wrote the article “US Must Remain Wary of International Criminal Court even after Decision to Not Target Americans” published on the Heritage website on the 12th of April 2019. The article examines the deliberations of the pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court that led to the conclusion that it would not pursue any action against the United States. The motion was in regard to the war in Afghanistan that has seen the loss of life and destruction property for both the United States and Afghanistan. The main argument in the article is that the United States is not party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; therefore it is not subject to the court’s jurisdiction.

The ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda made a request to the court to investigate war crimes including the violation of human rights in Afghanistan since 2003. This request was denied. The main reason for this rejection was that the trial was unlikely to succeed for several reasons. These include: evidence of the said crimes was poorly preserved, the US would not cooperate with the investigation and it would require significant human and financial resources that would have been put to better use elsewhere.

The author notes that the court’s decision is a welcome one but does not eliminate its conflicts with the US. In hindsight, the conclusion of the United States not to be a party to the Rome Statute was the right one. Military personnel would face prosecution for the actions they took to protect the country. The US invaded Afghanistan to counter terrorist activities after 9/11. President Trump reinforces the decision due to the unaccountable powers that the ICC holds and the threat it poses to the sovereignty of a country. Prosecution for the human rights violations in Afghanistan would intimidate the efforts against terrorism in Afghanistan.

The author presents a firm opinion against an investigation into the US by the International Criminal Court. He supports his assertions with the ruling by the pre-trial chamber of the court that launching an investigation would be impractical. The chamber acknowledges that crimes against humanity happened in Afghanistan but investigating them would be difficult. The United States welcomed the decision while at the same time stating that the ICC has no jurisdiction within its borders. The author explains that there might be more problems between the US and the ICC in the future. He quotes Mike Pompeo and President Trump to show the stance that the United States has taken in the matter of ICC prosecutions.

The article is informative and presents its arguments with logical support to back it. The author reports the facts of the matter, therefore, eliminating any bias that he might have. The reader has the chance to make up their mind. Given that the war in Afghanistan, human rights violations and the International Criminal Court constitute a significant area of interest to many people, the article does an excellent job of explaining the subject matter to readers and leaving them enlightened on the position of the US.

Works Cited

Loeb, Saul. “US Must Remain Wary of International Criminal Court even after Decision to Not Target Americans” The Heritage Foundation. 12 Apr 2019. Retrieved from https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/us-must-remain-wary-international-criminal-court-even-after-decision-not Accessed 15 April 2019