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Pompeo: ICC War Crimes Investigation 'Breathtaking' Political Hit Job

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has authorized an investigation into purported war crimes and “crimes against humanity” regarding military action in Afghanistan, including actions by U.S. forces.

us army 379036 6409smallU.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo described the measure as “a truly breathtaking action by an unaccountable political institution,” while the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) hailed the decision as a testament to the “rule of law.” The investigation will cover the activities of the Taliban and other Afghan and U.S. personnel, per information from the Secretary of State’s office. It will also cover reported CIA “black sites” in Eastern Europe, according to information from the ACLU. So reports The Guardian

“It is all the more reckless for this ruling to come just days after the United States signed a historic peace deal on Afghanistan–the best chance for peace in a generation. Indeed, the Afghan government, itself, pleaded with the ICC to not take this course. But the ICC politicians had other goals,” said Pompeo in a statement. Pompeo said the U.S. is not a party of the ICC and pledged to take measures to protect U.S. citizens from what he describes as a “renegade, so-called court.”

“This is yet another reminder of what happens when multilateral bodies lack oversight and responsible leadership, and become instead a vehicle for political vendettas,” he added. “The ICC has today stumbled into a sorry affirmation of every denunciation made by its harshest critics over the past three decades.”

FROM TWITTER

Rachel Maddow MSNBC @maddow

"The international criminal court has authorized an investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan... The judges also approved that the scope of the investigation should include CIA black sites operated in Poland, Lithuania, and Romania."

The ACLU, on the other hand, lauded the decision, which reversed a pre-trial chamber ruling to block the investigation. Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU’s Human Rights Program, said the move offers a chance for justice absent domestic judicial action.

“This decision vindicates the rule of law and gives hope to the thousands of victims seeking accountability when domestic courts and authorities have failed them. While the road ahead is still long and bumpy, this decision is a significant milestone that bolsters the ICC’s independence in the face of the Trump administration’s bullying tactics,” said Dakwar. “Countries must fully cooperate with this investigation and not submit to any authoritarian efforts by the Trump administration to sabotage it. It is past time perpetrators are held accountable for well-documented war crimes that haunt survivors and the families of victims to this day.”

According to the ACLU, it will represent three individuals—Suleiman Salim, Khaled El Masri and Mohamed Ben Soud—whom it claims were tortured in Afghanistan.

The decision from the ICC (PDF) notes investigators will be authorized to look events in Afghanistan beginning May 1, 2003. It will also cover “other alleged crimes that have a nexus to the armed conflict in Afghanistan and are sufficiently linked to the situation and were committed on the territory of other States Parties in the period since [July 1, 2002.]’’

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