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# Trump Wants Laws Expanding the Use of Torture ‘To Beat ISIS’
- URL: https://ivn.us/trump-wants-laws-expanding-the-use-of-torture-to-beat-isis/
- Published: 2016-03-07T18:34:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-22T19:52:23.000Z
- Author: Ben Swann
- Tags: News

After he was criticized for claiming that he could force the United States military to break the current law banning torture methods like waterboarding, [Donald Trump](http://truthinmedia.com/tag/donald-trump/?ref=ivn.us) backtracked his comments and said instead that he would like to change the laws to include waterboarding *“at a minimum.”*

Trump has been vocal in the past regarding the issue of how to deal with suspected terrorists, and in December he [said](http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/politics/donald-trump-terrorists-families/?ref=ivn.us) that not only should the U.S. target terrorists, but also their families.

*“The other thing with the terrorists is you have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families,”* Trump said. *“They care about their lives, don’t kid yourself. When they say they don’t care about their lives, you have to take out their families.”*

Trump has also voiced support for bringing back waterboarding. In November, he [said](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-bring-back-waterboarding/story?id=35354443&ref=ivn.us),*“I think waterboarding is peanuts compared to what they do to us.”*

When asked about his stance on waterboarding at a GOP debate in February, Trump [said](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/06/transcript-of-the-feb-6-gop-debate-annotated/?ref=ivn.us) he would *“bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding,”* because in the Middle East, *“we have people chopping the heads off Christians, we have people chopping the heads off many other people.”*

In response to Trump’s comments, former NSA and CIA Director Michael Hayden said that Trump’s plans to target the families of terrorists, and to bring back *“enhanced interrogation techniques”* that are *“worse than waterboarding,”* would result in the American armed forces refusing to act.

“*\[U.S. military personnel\] are* *not required — in fact you are required not to follow an unlawful order,”* Hayden said*. “That would be in violation of all the international laws of armed conflict.*”

During a GOP debate Thursday, Fox News Host Bret Baier [asked](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/03/03/the-fox-news-gop-debate-transcript-annotated/?ref=ivn.us) Trump what he would do if the military *“refused to carry out”* his orders.

*Editor's note: This article, written by Rachel Blevins, [originally published](http://truthinmedia.com/trump-calls-for-laws-expansion-of-torture-to-beat-isis/?ref=ivn.us) on Truth in Media on March 7, 2016.*

*Photo Credit: [Joseph Sohm](http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-978674p1.html?cr=00&pl=edit-00&ref=ivn.us) / [Shutterstock.com](http://www.shutterstock.com/editorial?cr=00&pl=edit-00&ref=ivn.us)*