ICC's Focus on the US: A Complicated Relationship
- The ICC, led by prosecutor Karim Khan and advised by Amal Clooney, is expanding its focus beyond Israel to also target the United States.
- The Biden administration finds itself in a challenging position due to the ICC's war crimes inquiry into Israeli conduct in Gaza.
- The complex and contentious relationship between the US and the ICC is under scrutiny.
The International Criminal Court prosecutor wants to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. President Joe Biden thinks this is very wrong. He says the ICC is not fair because it lets politics and public opinion influence its decisions. In the past, the ICC accused many African officials of crimes, making Africans wonder why only they were targeted. The ICC even thought about accusing Americans of war crimes in Afghanistan. But when the Taliban took over Afghanistan and did terrible things, the ICC stopped investigating, saying they couldn't get enough information. President Biden winning over President Trump also made the ICC's actions less important. The ICC prosecutor, Khan, is part of a group called the "Elders" that acts like they know everything and can judge world issues. Khan ignores bad things happening in China, Iran, Syria, and Azerbaijan. Some people think Khan and his group are more dangerous to human rights than Israeli or American leaders. The ICC's investigation into Israel's actions in Gaza makes the Biden administration uncomfortable.