By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
FHSU hosts a Times Talk presentation on the Israel-Hamas war and the conduct of fighting that has occurred since the start of the war.
The American Democracy Project presentation on Thursday, at the Forsyth Library, was about the ongoing war in Gaza.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy Peter Tramel brought attention to the conflict by discussing what qualifies as self-defense, collateral damage and terrorism.
Tramel said although he is not a historian or a political scientist, his expertise lies in the field of moral and just war theory.
"I've been watching public discourse about the war in media, I thought it was desperately bad and [people] needed help in understanding what the issues might be," he said.
Before obtaining his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at FHSU, Tramel served as a medic and surgical technician in the U.S. Army.
Just war theory is an ambiguous term that can be used to describe someone's position, specialization or commitment to a tradition, Tramel said.
Generally speaking, the tradition is the basis of international law, often applied more assertively to weaker nations through the prosecution of war criminals at the International Criminal Court, Tramel said.
"War companies from the United States, Russia and China won't face international law because there is no mechanism of support that's strong enough," he said.
The just war tradition entails three requirements: a rationale for engaging in conflict, moral objectives and honorable conduct in fighting.
Tramel focuses on behavior during combat and says that ethical warfare involves targeting solely enemy combatants while minimizing harm to noncombatants.
Considering these ethics, the significant challenge in modern warfare is the inherent difficulty of conducting wars without causing harm to those who aren't involved, especially in densely populated areas.
"They're not starting a war in a place like Ellis, they're starting a war in a place like Brooklyn or The Bronx in terms of population density," Tramel said.
Tramel presents a list of alleged flagrant violations of just war traditions and international law in the Gaza conflict that includes:
- Both Hamas and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, are ignoring the just peace requirement
- Hamas's terrorist's attack on Oct. 7 is a violation of the Principles of Discrimination and Noncombatant Immunity
- Hamas's strategy of fighting from civilian cover is a violation of the Principle of Discriminations (and the 4th Geneva Convention)
- Israel's "whack-a-mole" rules of engagement in Gaza violates Principles of Necessity and Proportionality Due Care Requirements
"If Hamas is reported to be somewhere and you bomb the you know what out of it, whether or not you ended up killing any Hamas, you definitely killed a lot," Tramel said.
"Just peace" refers to any essential measures taken to attain peace, while the "Principles of Discrimination" involve distinguishing enemy combatants and only targeting them, sparing noncombatants from harm.
The death toll for Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war has surpassed 27,000 after Hamas's initial assault on southern Israel, resulting in 1,200 fatalities and the abduction of over 250 individuals, according to the Associated Press.
Tramel said the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas was inexcusable. He considered having photos from that day in the presentation before deciding not to.
Hamas has since stated that mistakes were made that day, but Tramel said that it was undeniably unjust.
"Mistakes is a pretty offensive word to use for what we saw," he said. "It was a horrible direct targeting of noncombatants and a clear violation of the rules of war."
Following the rules of just war can, to an extent, be impossible, according to Tramel, who said neither side believes the other would treat them justly if given the chance.
As the war in Gaza continues, Tramel said the future and long-term objectives appear uncertain for both Israel and Hamas.
"It's not clear that either side has a reasonable chance of success in what they're doing," he said. "It's not clear that this will make Israel safe, and it's not clear what Hamas will gain from what they do."
To watch previous Times Talk presentations, click here.
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