On June 11, President Donald Trump authorized sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), if the intergovernmental organization continues to investigate alleged war crimes of U.S. forces. In the White House’s official statement, it accuses the ICC of unfairly targeting the United States and Israel.
In March, the ICC Appeals Chamber authorized an investigation, launched by Chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, into potential war crimes committed in Afghanistan by Afghan National Security Forces, the United States military, and the CIA. Bensouda’s office is also investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly carried out by the Taliban.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attacked the move right away. “This is a truly breathtaking action by an unaccountable political institution masquerading as a legal body,” he said at the time. Later that month, international officials attacked Pompeo for initiating a political campaign against the ICC and threatening members by name. “This is an international court, and here you have the secretary of state literally singling out staff members of that court publicly and threatening them,” said former Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes David Scheffer, “It is just beyond the pale.”
Trump’s official statement on the sanctions accuses the ICC of pursuing, “politically-motivated investigations against us and our allies, including Israel.” The ICC has also launched an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank. Axios has revealed that the Trump administration coordinated the new sanctions with Israel’s government. “Israeli officials tell me the plan to sanction the ICC was one of the main reasons for Pompeo’s trip to Israel. The discussion was kept to low profile by both sides and wasn’t mentioned during the many briefings before and after the visit,” wrote Barak Ravid.
Jonathan Cook explained the growing anxiety from the U.S. and Israel at Mondoweiss yesterday:
Bensouda’s term as prosecutor finishes next year. Israel may hope to continue stonewalling until she is gone. Elyakim Rubinstein, a former Israeli Supreme Court judge, called last month for a campaign to ensure that her successor is more sympathetic to Israel.
But if Bensouda does get the go-ahead, Netanyahu and an array of former generals, including his Defence Minister Benny Gantz, would likely be summoned for questioning. If they refuse, an international arrest warrant could be issued, theoretically enforceable in the 123 countries that ratified the court. Neither Israel nor the US is willing to let things reach that point.
The ICC has condemned the sanctions. “An attack on the ICC also represents an attack against the interests of victims of atrocity crimes, for many of whom the Court represents the last hope for justice,” it said in a statement.
https://www.cnsnews.com/article/washington/terence-p-jeffrey/federal-debt-tops-26-trillion-first-time-jumps-2-trillion-just
U.S. “Federal Debt Tops $26 Trillion for First Time; Jumps $2 Trillion in Just 63 Days” CNS News, June 10/20, by Terrence P. Jeffrey
Surely, it is blatantly obvious that for the sake of morality, international humanitarian law and its increasingly financially hard pressed tax payers, it is long since time that the United States ceased funding (about $12 million per day, well over $134.7 billion since 1948) “Israel’s” thoroughly documented, ongoing and accelerating monstrous crimes against the native Palestinians.
I believe this is a war crime is it not, perhaps time America got its knee off the neck of the Arabs.
“Trump ordered US Forces to Burn Hectares of Wheat Field in Syria amid CoVID-19 Pandemic: International Business Times
The US forces used Apache helicopters to drop thermal balloons in Hasaka province on May 17.
UN officials raised alarm that the pandemic was now driving food insecurity to record levels in Syria.
It is estimated 9.3 million people in Syria are now food insecure.
Days after Syria stated that the American occupation forces in the country burned large areas of wheat crop fields, a report now has emerged that the destroying of the food crop was carried out by the US forces on the orders sanctioned by President Donald Trump.
The report titled “Confirmed Trump Ordered Syria’s Wheat Crop Burning During Pandemic” said that the US forces were carrying out the orders that were sanctioned by The White House. President Donald Trump had signed the orders for the burning of agriculture lands in Syria.
On May 17, the local Syrian news report said that US forces burned down 20 hectares of the wheat crop in Syria.
The report published in SANA reported that a plane belonging to the American occupation forces dropped thermal balloons over the agricultural lands in the countryside of Shaddadi, south of Hasaka. The thermal balloons burned a large area of agricultural land that contain wheat crops in Hasaka province.”
http://syriatimes.sy/index.php/arab-and-foreign-press/48716-trump-ordered-us-forces-to-burn-hectares-of-wheat-field-in-syria-amid-covid-19-pandemic-international-business-times
“The US admits they are to blame for the Syrian hunger
June 12, 2020 “Information Clearing House” – United States Special Envoy to Syria, James Jeffrey, announced on Sunday that Washington had offered Syria a proposal to end the US sanctions. The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry in Damascus said that the statements by James Jeffrey constitute a clear admission by the Trump administration of it being directly responsible for the suffering of Syrians. The Syrians see the increasing sanctions as economic-warfare after the US failure to bring about ‘regime change’, by using terrorists supported by the CIA. Damascus declares the sanctions violate human rights and international law as they affect the Syrian population…….
American sanctions on Syria have piled up in layers since 1979, and increased during the 2011-2020 period, culminating in the newest sanctions this month.
Friar Firas Lutfi, of the Franciscan order with the Custody of the Holy Land, gave a video interview to ‘Rome Reports’, in which he gave his first-hand testimony about Syria before, during and after the war. He recalled his former life in Aleppo and explained the plight of persecuted Christians, who had enjoyed full freedom of religion in Syria until the Al Qaeda terrorists arrived at the behest of the Muslim Brotherhood-backed attack which began in 2011.
The terrorists have been defeated, except for Idlib; however, a new form of terror arrived in the form of the COVID-19 virus. Although the number of cases is low in Syria, the effect of the lockdown has led to poverty, as income was halted.
Friar Lutfi phoned a friend in Syria, and the friend said, “I prefer to die of coronavirus and not by hunger…”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/55211.htm