White House National Security Advisor John Bolton called the Hague-based rights body "unaccountable" and "outright dangerous" to the United States, Israel and other allies, and said any probe of US service members would be "an utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation."
"If the court comes after us, Israel or other US allies, we will not sit quietly," Bolton said.
He said the US was prepared to slap financial sanctions and criminal charges on officials of the court if they proceed against any Americans.
"We will ban its judges and prosecutors from entering the United States. We will sanction their funds in the US financial system, and we will prosecute them in the US criminal system," Bolton said.
"We will do the same for any company or state that assists an ICC investigation of Americans."
Bolton made the comments in a speech in Washington to the Federalist Society, a powerful association of legal conservatives.
Investigation into detainee abuse
Bolton pointed to an ICC prosecutor's request in November 2017 to open an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by the US military and intelligence officials in Afghanistan, especially over the abuse of detainees.
Neither Afghanistan nor any other government party to the ICC's Rome Statute has requested an investigation, Bolton said.
He said the ICC could formally open the investigation "any day now."
He also cited a recent move by Palestinian leaders to have Israeli officials prosecuted at the ICC for human rights violations.
"The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court," Bolton said.
"We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We certainly will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own."
The ICC defended itself, noting it has the support of 123 member states and that even the United Nations Security Council has found it valuable, asking it in 2005 to investigate genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
"The ICC, as a judicial institution, acts strictly within the legal framework of the Rome Statute and is committed to the independent and impartial exercise of its mandate," it said in a statement.
'Threat' to US sovereignty
Bolton said the main objection of President Donald Trump's administration is to the idea that the ICC could have higher authority than the US Constitution and US sovereignty.
"In secular terms, we don't recognize any higher authority than the US Constitution," he said.
"This president will not allow American citizens to be prosecuted by foreign bureaucrats, and he will not allow other nations to dictate our means of self-defense."
He also condemned the court's record since it formally started up in 2002, and argued that most major nations had not joined.
He said it had attained just eight convictions despite spending more than $1.5 billion, and said that had not stemmed atrocities around the world.
"In fact, despite ongoing ICC investigations, atrocities continue to occur in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Libya, Syria, and many other nations." he added.
Bolton was strongly criticized by rights groups. Liz Evenson, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said Bolton's threats "show callous disregard for victims of atrocity crimes."
"The slaughter of civilians in Syria, Myanmar and elsewhere shows the ICC is needed more than ever to act where it can," Evenson added.
She said a move to block the complaints against US soldiers in Afghanistan and against Israel would show the US "more concerned with coddling serial rights abusers... than supporting impartial justice."
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This is a modern country of the USA that feels that it has the monopoly of political justice for the whole human race of the world. An Ayatollah of Planet Earth.
On April 3, 1948, President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. It became known as the Marshall Plan, named for Secretary of State George Marshall, who in 1947 proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe. 16 European nations, including Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany and Norway received such assistance but not their empire colonies.
The African government of Zimbabwe has reacted very angrily to the new US visa restrictions imposed on it especilly for constantly vote rigging in democratic elections;
Written by VOA
The Zimbabwe passport in photo
Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party is reacting angrily to a new visa restriction policy that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced this week, aimed at people accused of undermining democracy in the southern African nation.
The opposition is berating the United States for the latest move. Lawrence Socha, spokesperson at the US Embassy in Harare, told VOA that the new visa restriction policy would affect individuals believed to be responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy.
He said that may include manipulating or rigging the electoral process, disenfranchising voters, restricting the work of civil society organizations, or intimidating voters.
"Such acts might also include engaging in corruption, including bribery that undermines the electoral process, interfering with the independent operation of the judiciary, or abusing or violating human rights in Zimbabwe," said Socha.
"The visa restriction policy will apply to specific individuals involved in these acts, and it is not directed at the Zimbabwe in people. The United States supports Zimbabwe's aspirations to have free and fair elections that reflect the will of the people and strengthen democracy, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights."
Zimbabwe’s August general election was marred by delays and shortages of materials in the opposition’s strongholds. Many observer missions – including from the Southern African Development Community, said the process fell far short of requirements of the country’s electoral laws as well as the regional bloc’s guidelines.
Jonathan Moyo, a former government minister in Zimbabwe, says the new restrictions are meant to make citizens revolt against their government after the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, known as ZIDERA, failed to do so. Then US President George W. Bush signed into law the measure aimed at promoting economic growth and the rule of law.
“An objective empirical assessment of this latest measure is really an admission first and foremost that ZIDERA has failed, that the Americans have become hopeless, the Americans, the meaning of the American government, have become jittery, and they now are resorting to legal instruments that were there in 2001 but now they think they can achieve what they've failed to achieve through Zidera,” said Moyo.
Farai Muroiwa Marapira, a ZANU-PF spokesman, voiced agreement with Moyo.
“As ZANU-PF, we are not surprised by this new activity by the American government. We all know their intent on changing the government," said Marapira. "And all their machinations having failed in August, some tantrums are expected and this is what is obtaining. We remain unfazed and remain resolute. We hold on to the words of wisdom from our president; President ED Mnangagwa. We are an enemy to none and a friend to all and our doors are open.”
Moyo says he doubts the new US visa restrictions will have any impact. However, Promise Mkwananzi, the spokesman for the country’s main opposition party, the Citizens’ Coalition for Change, is more hopeful.
"I think it is important not just for the American government but as well as other governments, regional bodies such as SADC and others to ensure that they put some disincentives against people who would want to undermine the will of the people of Zimbabwe and disrespect at the voice of the Zimbabwean people, including of course those that are not in ZANU-PF, but who are complicit with the regime in undermining the wishes and the will of the people of Zimbabwe.”
The opposition says it is still hopeful that regional body SADC will call for fresh polls following the chaos which characterized Zimbabwe’s August elections.
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There are many millions of employable people world wide already struggling to get visas in developed countries so that they can find better jobs and decent lives.
African leadership is only busy demanding expensive visas in these countries abroad to enhance their corruption ways of staying put in power for many years and counting!