By Tania Curado Koenig

Thesis: The clash with the ICC isn’t theoretical anymore. This week it sits at the junction of sovereignty, Israel’s wartime choices, Europe’s instincts, and America’s leverage.

1) The week the ICC fight got real

On August 20–21, the U.S. sanctioned four ICC officials—two judges and two prosecutors—arguing the court is reaching into non-member states and criminalizing decisions taken in war. The U.N. and Europe protested; Jerusalem welcomed it. The step isn’t symbolic: assets are frozen and a policy line is drawn.

Why it matters now: the sanctions show how far Washington will go to shield U.S. personnel and Israel’s leadership while the fighting continues—with Europe’s heads of government watching from the White House.
This is not abstract. It is America standing up for Israel in the most direct way—telling the world that Israel’s survival cannot be judged in The Hague.

2) Trump’s on-air framing: leverage over process

On August 19, President Trump called The Mark Levin Show and reduced his approach to one line: “force when needed, leverage over process.” He called Prime Minister Netanyahu “a war hero” and added, “I guess I am too.” Agree or not, the point was clear: he plans to deal with The Hague, Iran, and Europe through leverage, not delay.

Two pull quotes (this week):
• “Netanyahu’s a war hero… I guess I am too.”
• “We don’t wait on process. We create leverage.”

That doctrine isn’t theory this week: a direct call with Putin, a face-to-face in Alaska, and a meeting with Zelensky show leverage setting the pace.
This is why President Trump, today, is the most powerful man in the world—because only he plays the leverage card while others shuffle paper.

3) Europe’s pushback—on a split screen in Washington

Brussels said it was “gravely concerned” and restated “unwavering support” for the ICC. The optics are stark: defending a court pursuing Israeli leaders while Israelis insist they are fighting for survival—and doing it in Washington during a week of meetings with Macron (France), Scholz (Germany), Meloni (Italy), NATO’s Mark Rutte, and others on Ukraine and Israel.

At the same time, Europe wrestles with Ukraine as Moscow presses maximalist terms. Europe speaks procedure; Moscow and Jerusalem move on force.

4) Iran—this week’s edge cases

Britain, France, and Germany are in renewed contact with Iran and the IAEA. Vienna is back on calendars. The nuclear file is live, and the ICC fight sits beside it as leaders move through Washington. Washington’s ICC stance preserves freedom of action while Europe probes inspections in Vienna.
Vienna, where Europe is pressing Iran this week, is the stage of process; Washington, where Trump is sanctioning the ICC and hosting leaders, is the stage of leverage. Both are happening now, side by side.

5) The Americas: a U.S.–Brazil collision

In August, Washington sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and set 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports, tying both to actions against Jair Bolsonaro. Street protests followed. Capitals traded barbs. The same logic appears here as with the ICC: discipline courts that overreach; keep political sovereignty with elected leaders.

6) A reported note on power—the Lubbers story

This is why I write the way I do. During a Dutch cabinet formation, Ruud Lubbers (Prime Minister 1982–94; later U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees; Earth Charter chair) called me at 11:00 p.m. while Queen Beatrix had tasked him to form the government. He asked for my counsel. The next day I watched him follow it—on television.

On a separate occasion, after the death of a senior figure, he phoned again—not in tears, but soberly—to ask about life after death, aware his own end was not far.

I include this to explain why I defend the people in President Trump’s “faith office.” Outsiders mock Paula White and others: “Trump isn’t saved; they aren’t doing enough.” That misunderstands the job. At that level, it isn’t salesmanship. It’s timing and prayer. The struggle is not with people but with principalities that try to blind and freeze the moment. Trump may not yet be saved. But like Cyrus in Isaiah 45, he is being used to shield Israel and restrain hostile power. That is why he must be prayed for, not picked apart.

7) What the critics are saying—this week

• ICC: scholars and EU officials say sanctions erode accountability and invite copycats.
• “War hero” remark: veterans’ groups called it offensive; allies answer that wartime orders shape outcomes.
• Brazil: rights groups say U.S. pressure looks like interference; Washington says it defends speech and due process.

Many critiques miss the point: the contest is both strategic and spiritual.

8) What’s at stake—right now

• Israel: will battlefield decisions be chilled by extraterritorial prosecutions while rockets still fly?
• Europe: will deference to courts replace hard choices on Russia and Iran—and at what cost to leverage?
• United States: can the White House keep sovereignty central while managing The Hague (ICC), Vienna (Iran), and Washington/Anchorage (Zelensky/Putin)?

For Israel, this is also the prophetic center of history. Criminalizing self-defense is, at bottom, a fight over covenant.

9) Trump as card player—who holds the deck
This week isn’t a slow chess match; it’s a card game. Who holds the cards?

Europe plays institutions. Israel plays survival. Brazil’s court plays arbitration. President Trump plays the hand—hosting Europe in Washington, speaking with Zelensky, meeting Putin in Alaska, forcing everyone to show their cards and recalculate.

That is why the Church should pray for him rather than nitpick those serving near him. The cards are on his table, just as he said: leverage first, process if it helps.

And the truth is simple: this week, the cards are not in Brussels, not in The Hague, not in Vienna—they are on President Trump’s table in Washington.

Bottom line (this week)

Trump’s message: leverage beats process. Europe’s message: process confers legitimacy. Israel’s message: survival isn’t litigated. Brazil shows how fast law, platforms, and politics collide when Washington decides courts are the problem.

You can admire or dislike the approach. But this week’s facts point to one question: who sets the rules when the shooting hasn’t stopped? And in a season of restored leverage, if you’re not proud to be an American now, you may be missing the story.