The travails of the global world and an international “rule based order”
The U.S. is not a party to the treaty that created the international court. Instead of joining the organization when it was founded, the U.S. adopted the American Service-Members’ Protection Act, which broadly prohibits the U.S. from facilitating any ICC investigation of U.S. or allied service personnel — and which blocks ICC staff from conducting such work inside the U.S.
NPR
While the U.S. claims its citizens and military personnel are outside of the ICC’s jurisdiction, the court says Afghanistan is within its purview because the country ratified the Rome Statute, which established the court, in early 2003.
“The ICC therefore has jurisdiction over Rome Statute crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan or by its nationals from 1 May 2003 onwards,” the court said in its summary of a preliminary examination in 2013.