There's a reason the law you're talking about only authorizes the president to do it. The lawmakers know that what they by passing the law are threatening is crazy, so they put it in the hands of the president, who they understand will never use it. They make sure there's a strong gate separating them and the other dog, then they bark. They know that actually trying to extract people from the Hague would look something like the Battle of Hostomel on steroids and would permanently and irrevocably damage relations and they would do nothing of the sort.

There is a reason the US does not recognize the ICC. And we also know they have the plans ready to free any soldier from the Netherlands _if_ we were to arrest a American soldier.

And the US _will_ execute that plan. And the Netherlands _will_ sit back and let it happen.

See, the world is a big schoolyard, and America is tired of shaking people down for protection money and threatens us "to start protecting ourselves".

I don't like Trump, but I can't deny he accelerates events that should have started a while back. Very good for our future, not so much for the US. But that's what they voted for.

This is false though. No one pays US money for defense. The 2% spending is on their own industry. The analogy breaks down.

If anything, the US pays to support other countries/allies.