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The United States is waging a diplomatic war to try to cripple the International Criminal Court (ICC), and it is pressuring NATO allies to do the heavy lifting, Politico reported Thursday. The U.S. Mission to NATO distributed a formal diplomatic paper to all 32 member nations of the military alliance, asking them to withdraw from the Rome Statute and cease all material assistance to the court.
According to Politico, Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker briefed ambassadors in a closed-door meeting in Brussels in mid-July. The document stated: "The United States will systematically dismantle the capabilities of the International Criminal Court. We firmly request that you immediately take steps to withdraw." Whitaker closed his remarks with a pointed warning: "We will be watching closely who stands with America."
The document asked member states to publicly condemn the ICC's overreach of authority, cease all financial and material assistance to the court, and examine the threat the ICC poses to U.S. sovereignty and that of its allies. "Let us end the charade of the ICC once and for all," the document concluded, reported Politico.
The ICC has long been a thorn in the side of the U.S. and Israel. The court issued international arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the Gaza conflict. The Trump administration has long maintained that the ICC is a politically motivated institution that works against American interests and those of its closest allies.
However, not all NATO allies were willing to comply. During the Brussels meeting, France and the Netherlands expressed their support for the court and refused to give in to Washington's pressure. While NATO itself is not a party to the Rome Statute, 30 of the alliance's 32 member states are signatories — the exceptions being the United States and Turkey.
The push is part of a broader Trump administration effort to pull back from international institutions it sees as operating outside U.S. control and working against American interests. How European allies will ultimately respond remains to be seen.
