Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday that American troops are afraid to fight for fear of violating the Geneva Conventions.
“The problem is we have the Geneva Conventions, all sorts of rules and regulations, so the soldiers are afraid to fight,” Mr. Trump said at a town hall during remarks on torture, Politico reported.
“We can’t waterboard, but they can chop off heads,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the United States and the Islamic State terrorist group, respectively. “I think we’ve got to make some changes, some adjustments.”
The Geneva Conventions, which were adopted after World War II, set international standards for the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war. It includes a ban on torture and summary executions.
Mr. Trump has advocated bringing back harsher interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects, including waterboarding, and has said the U.S. military should target the families of Islamic State militants.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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