High-ranking U.S. officials could face charges under a pending International Criminal Court (ICC) ruling that could breathe new life into a decade-long investigation into war crimes allegedly committed during the conflict in Afghanistan.
If a formal investigation were allowed that resulted in efforts to bring Americans to trial, it could undermine the current administration’s military strategy in Afghanistan and elsewhere, experts told The Crime Report.
“No other country has the military footprint the U.S. has; we are everywhere,” said Gabor Rona, a visiting professor of law at the Cardozo School of Law.
“The ability of the US to project that military footprint…would be challenged and compromised, knowing its personnel would be subject to an international tribunal.”
In June, the ICC’s Office of The Prosecutor(OTP) requested leave to appeal a controversial decision by the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) in April not to authorize a formal investigation into alleged U.S. “war crimes” in Afghanistan.
The PTC usually consists of a three-judge panel that decides if a potential case meets the requirements to authorize an official investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor.
Sources told TCR that a decision could come as early as mid-august.
The ICC began investigating the situation in Afghanistan in 2007, and the request for authorization by Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda was submitted to the Pre-Trial Chamber in November 2017.
One of the reasons for the lengthy preliminary investigation noted in the PTC’s April decision was the difficulty in getting even minimal cooperation from “relevant authorities.”
The PTC’s April decision drew stark criticism from victims and officials charges afghan crimes
