New York, Aug 10: The Bush administration has warned foreign diplomats this week that their nations could lose the US military assistance if they became members of the International Criminal Court without pledging to protect Americans serving in their countries from its reach, a media report said on Saturday. The threat to withdraw military aid -- including education, training and help financing the purchase of equipment and weaponry -- could be felt by almost every nation that has relations with the US, though the law exempts many of its closest allies, the New York Times reported.

The law gives the president authority to waive the provision and decide to continue military aid if he determines it is in the national interest.

This part of the new law, which passed Congress with broad bipartisan support and was signed last week by President George W Bush, provides the administration with its broadest and most coercive tool to keep American peacekeepers out of the hands of the new court.
Bureau Report