On Friday the Trump administration rolled out sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court, calling it a "rogue" organization and declaring that the action is part of an effort to ultimately dismantle the tribunal.
"We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate against us," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a video address on social media. "The United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC."
Rubio continued, saying of Republicans and Democrats, "Both parties agree on this, but only President Trump has the resolve to take the action needed to end this threat once and for all." He then warned: "Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC."
via AFPImportantly, the top American diplomat then turned to pressuring Americans allies, from European countries to Japan, to join the US-led sanctions and efforts to dismantle the ICC.
"We expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American service members for their defense, to rein in this rogue court," he said.
"If they do not, the United States will continue its campaign to dismantle the ICC, piece by piece, until Americans are threatened no longer," he added.
Ironically all of this stems in part from ICC action related to the US invasions and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, where yes - real US war crimes took place. These Bush-launched wars remain deeply unp
