Bolton to Deliver Provocative Speech Challenging Legitimacy of the International Criminal Court

Holy shit, folks. The centerpiece of the Trump Regime's foreign policy has been provocation, and here we go again. There are legitimate criticisms of the International Criminal Court to be made, but this is far beyond anything that resembles voicing valid concerns about the ICC.

Missy Ryan and Anne Gearan at the Washington Post: White House Expected to Warn of Sanctions, Other Penalties If International Court Moves Against Americans.

The United States will threaten Monday to punish individuals that cooperate with the International Criminal Court in a potential investigation of U.S. wartime actions in Afghanistan, according to people familiar with the decision.

The Trump administration is also expected to announce that it is shutting down a Palestinian diplomatic office in Washington because Palestinians have sought to use the international court to prosecute U.S. ally Israel, those people said.

White House national security adviser John Bolton is expected to outline threats of sanctions and a ban on travel to the United States for people involved in the attempted prosecution of Americans before the international court in an address Monday.

Bolton is a longtime opponent of the court on grounds that it violates national sovereignty.

The speech, titled "Protecting American Constitutionalism and Sovereignty from International Threats," is Bolton's first formal address since joining the administration in April. It is sponsored by the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian policy group.

Bolton is expected to outline a new campaign to challenge the court's legitimacy as it considers cases that could put the United States and close allies in jeopardy for the first time, according to individuals familiar with the planned remarks who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to do so on the record.

Bolton is likely to lay out American opposition to the court and propose measures including new agreements to shield U.S. personnel from international prosecution and the threat of sanctions or travel restrictions for people involved in prosecuting Americans.

...Stephen Pomper, who worked on issues related to the ICC in the Obama administration, said an attempt to weaken the court would exacerbate strains between the United States and allies in Europe and elsewhere who were supporters of the court.

"It's going to create friction that's not necessary, and it's going to create the impression the United States is a bully and a hegemon," said Pomper, who now is U.S. program director at the International Crisis Group.

Correct. Which of course is the entire objective. Creating the impression that the U.S. is a bully and a hegemon isn't a bug; it's a feature.

This is the whole reason Bolton was hired as National Security Advisor. He's been advocating to formalize the United States' objections to the ICC since he was part of the Bush II administration. And now he's got the boss who's reckless enough to let him go whole hog.

Yikes.