WikiLeaks reveals John Bolton was pressing UAE to sign an agreement so that the US officials would not be held accountable for possible war crimes in Iraq
The
WIKILEAKS
Public Library of US Diplomacy (PlusD)
holds
the world's largest searchable collection of United States
confidential, or formerly confidential, diplomatic communications. As
of April 8, 2013 it holds 2 million records comprising approximately
1 billion words. The collection covers US involvements in, and
diplomatic or intelligence reporting on, every country on earth. It
is the single most significant body of geopolitical material ever
published. The PlusD collection, built and curated by WikiLeaks, is
updated from a variety of sources, including leaks, documents
released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and documents
released by the US State Department systematic declassification
review.
A cable
from June 2003 reveals that Trump's current national security
adviser, John Bolton, was pushing United Arab Emirates (UAE) to sign
an agreement, in order to block the International Criminal Court
(ICC) from persecuting US officials for possible war crimes in Iraq.
Key
parts:
Security
Assistance John R. Bolton urged the UAE to conclude a bilateral ICC
Article 98 agreement (see septel for other topics). U/S Bolton
provided an overview of USG progress made towards signing ICC Article
98 agreements, 45 of which have been concluded. U/S Bolton had signed
the most recent one that morning with Kuwait.
He
laid out the President's desire to see more agreements concluded,
including one with the UAE, particularly in light of the potential
for the unfair targeting of Americans and the fact that the ICC has
recently begun operations. Bolton noted the ridiculous cases brought
in Belgium against former President Bush, Secretary Powell and
General Franks.
Full
cable:
Cable from 2003: Bolton pressing the UAE to sign an agreement US officials will not be held accountable for possible war crimes in Iraq. Triggered by universal jurisdiction cases in Belgium against Bush, Powell, and General Franks. https://t.co/Axound7zJ2 pic.twitter.com/mUQTNFheTm— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 15, 2019
Meanwhile,
current Trump administration exhibits its provocative contempt to the
international law straight and open. As the Guardian reported:
|
The
United States has announced it will revoke or deny visas to
members of the International Criminal Court involved in
investigating the actions of US troops in Afghanistan or other
countries.
The
US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said Washington was prepared
to take further steps, including economic sanctions, if the war
crimes court goes ahead with any investigations of US or allied
personnel.
“The
ICC is attacking America’s rule of law,” Pompeo told
reporters. “It’s not too late for the court to change
course and we urge that it do so immediately.”
The
United States has never joined the ICC, where a prosecutor, Fatou
Bensouda, asked judges in November 2017 for authorization to open
an investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
Pompeo’s
announcement of visa restrictions was the first concrete action
taken by the US against the ICC since the White House threatened
reprisals against the Hague-based body in September.
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