In relation to this situation, the ICC Prosecutor is perhaps facing more active and vocal pressure than did her counterpart at the ICTY. In one sense, this is not a bad thing because there may be no question as to the intentions of the US administration. The US wants to thwart any ICC investigation into the possible role of US forces for war crimes. If the US is successful in that aim – as it very likely will be – and, consequently, the ICC Prosecutor will have to drop this limb of her investigation, she should, at the very least, be prepared to be as open and sincere about that fact as possible.
In face of such external pressure, the ICC Prosecutor should be prepared to communicate what she believes to be true. She should be prepared to admit that the external pressure from the US resulted in the non-investigation (and exclusion) of one of the sides to the conflict which, in turn, impacted on the accuracy and sincerity of her search for employment database truth about the conflict. This is particularly important if, for instance, the Prosecutor finds that she is able to investigate the Taliban and affiliated groups, but not, for instance, the US forces. In particular, she could acknowledge how such external pressures have led to an incomplete investigation of the conflict, on account of key exclusions. She should further acknowledge that the lack of an investigation into the possible involvement of US forces for war crimes due to external pressure was a factor that had to be taken into account when considering the totality of the historical narratives of the Afghan conflict emerging from the ICC.
Given the geopolitics at play, the ICC Prosecutor has little leverage over such external pressures impacting on her investigation. However, by making the above acknowledgments, she will to the extent possible reassert her commitment to an accurate and sincere search for truth about this conflict. As such, she will demonstrate that she may be counted on as a trustworthy speaker with respect to telling the truth about this conflict (again, in Williams’ sense of the phrase).