Donald Trump suddenly softened his stance on torture after getting blasted by military and legal experts

After saying for months that he would go as far as targeting terrorists' families and supporting torture as a means of interrogating terror suspects, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump softened his stance Friday and suggested he would respect the limits of international law.

Fox News moderator Bret Baier asked Trump about his provocative comments at Thursday night's debate.

He said that experts have questioned his stance on terror suspects and their families and noted that the military might refuse such orders if they do not comply with international law.

"They're not going to refuse me. Believe me," Trump responded.

He has also stated that he would do a "hell of a lot worse" than waterboarding terrorist suspects if he were elected president.

But in a statement released by his campaign Friday, Trump clarified his positions. He said that while he would "use every legal power that I have to stop these terrorist enemies," he does "understand that the United States is bound by laws and treaties" and that he would "not order our military or other officials to violate those laws."

International law stipulates that torture is considered a war crime. Ordering the military to torture suspects would violate the 1949 Geneva Convention. Waterboarding is considered a form of torture by international law, and it was banned by the Obama administration.

Though Trump clarified that he wouldn't ask the military to break international law, he also emphasized the need to defend the US from terror attacks.

"I feel very, very strongly about the need to attack and kill those terrorists who attack and kill our people," Trump said in the statement, which was provided to Business Insider and first reported by The Wall Street Journal. "I know people who died on 9/11. I will never forget those events."

He continued: "I will not order a military officer to disobey the law. It is clear that as President I will be bound by laws just like all Americans and I will meet those responsibilities."

Military experts have been staunchly critical of Trump's past statements on the issues of torture and military law.

Chris Harmer, a senior analyst at the Institute for the Study of War who spent 20 years serving in the US Navy, told Business Insider in an email that Trump's stances would spark a potentially direct confrontation between him and military advisers.

"If Donald Trump were President, and issued such an order, I would consider him a domestic enemy of the Constitution of the United States and would not only disobey the order, I would do everything in my power to ensure my fellow officers disobeyed that order as well," Harmer said.

John B. Bellinger, an adjunct senior fellow for international and national security law at the Council on Foreign Relations, echoed those sentiments.

"The military would refuse to obey an unlawful order, and that would include an order that violated a clear international law rule," he told Business Insider in an email.

Trump's Friday statement did not assure Harmer that he would be an effective commander in chief.

"People make verbal gaffes; I have. I make allowance for that," Harmer said. "But Trump's statements on torture and the intentional targeting of civilians as reprisal were considered statements, which he repeated several times. The fact that he is now backtracking away from them does not alleviate my concern. He is not fit to be Commander in Chief."

Harmer isn't alone in his concern. Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, released a statement on Friday calling on Trump to disavow torture more definitively:

As the Ranking Member of the Intelligence Committee, I have had the opportunity to meet with our troops and our intelligence community professionals, and they are the best in the world. But when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump makes their jobs more difficult, it's the duty of every Member of Congress to speak out.

Although Donald Trump has now said that he would obey the law, he has yet to specifically disavow torture or killing the families of our enemies - both of which he has advocated in the past and both of which violate the Geneva Conventions and our values. He cannot have it both ways - will be abide by the laws of war and denounce these positions, or won't he?

Let's be clear - these are war crimes, no matter who is ordering them or carrying them out, whether a field commander, agency head, general, or the president. Even in the midst of a heated presidential campaign, it's the responsibility of all who believe in the rule of law and human rights to condemn these dangerous remarks.

Trump's full statement is below:

I feel very, very strongly about the need to attack and kill those terrorists who attack and kill our people. I know people who died on 9/11. I will never forget those events. I will use every legal power that I have to stop these terrorist enemies. I do, however, understand that the United States is bound by laws and treaties and I will not order our military or other officials to violate those laws and will seek their advice on such matters. I will not order a military officer to disobey the law. It is clear that as President I will be bound by laws just like all Americans and I will meet those responsibilities.