Sir, – The claims made by US secretary of state Marco Rubio as justification for the initiation of actions by the US to dismantle the International Criminal Court (ICC) smack of the sentiment Orwell considered when describing political language:“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”This fits perfectly with Rubio’s disingenuous claims of ICC interference in US sovereignty. The real concern of the US regime is international scrutiny of their illegitimate actions in recent times, such as material and political support of the many Israeli war crimes in Gaza and its own illegal war against Iran. This US government believes might is right and that it should be allowed act with impunity under its now-threadbare cloak of interpretation of international law.The international community, and in particular the EU, need to reflect again on the circumstances that led to the creation of the structures of international law, and indeed the creation of the EU itself.As the generation that lived through the destruction of the second World War pass on, it is worrying to see lessons learned about malignant nationalism are fading.The EU should be leading the way in supporting the work of the ICC, and the International Court of Justice, in the face of these threats from the US government.- Yours, etc,BARRY WALSH,Blackrock,Cork.