Last week Wednesday I attended Professor Jens Ohlin’s talk about international criminal law. He explained to us the basic rules of warfare, as well as, what actions are deemed as a war crime. A large part of his talk centered around the United States attack on the hospital in Afghanistan.

This talk was a very eye opening experience for me. I never knew that there were international laws about war. I had just assumed that once war had begun, everything was fair game. For example, I did not know that hospitals were considered safe zones during war. I also did not know that wounded soldiers are considered a civilian and thus cannot be attack with exceptions. From Professor Ohlin’s talk, I also learned that there are many exceptions to the rules of warfare. These exceptions create a grey area, which makes it hard to prove whether certain actions are actually war crimes.

In regards to the U.S. attack on the Afghanistan hospital, it was interesting to hear both sides of the argument during the talk. On one hand, if the U.S. believed that there were key enemies hiding in the hospital then they might have had a legitimate reason for attacking the hospital. However, on the other hand, about 22 innocent people died and it is hard to justify any attack when innocent people pay the price with their lives. I think it is difficult to make a decision in this matter until all facts are known.

Overall, the talk was a great experience. I had never before heard of international war crimes, nor had I heard about the U.S. attack on the Afghanistan Hospital. Professor Ohlin was a great speaker and I am intrigued to learn more about this topic and what happens following the U.S. attack.