Court Orders Probe of Afghan Attacks

By JOE LAURIA

UNITED NATIONS -- Investigators at the International Criminal Court have begun looking into accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan to determine whether there is cause to open a formal investigation, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the court's chief prosecutor, said on Wednesday.

The prosecutor said forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization -- which include U.S. servicemen -- could potentially become the target of an ICC prosecution, as the alleged crimes would have been committed in Afghanistan, which has joined the war-crimes court. However, every nation has the right to try its own citizens for the alleged crimes, and the ICC can step in only after determining a national court was unable or unwilling to pursue the case.

The specter of international trials of U.S. troops was central to the Bush administration's objection to joining the court, and the U.S. hasn't ratified the Rome Statute that set up the ICC in 1998. While the Obama administration has spoken more positively of the court, the president hasn't signed the treaty, which would need Senate ratification.

Mr. Ocampo said the court was also looking into the actions of the Taliban. ....