Washington (CNN) Republican front-runner Donald Trump moved to staunch scathing criticism of his national security views on Friday, executing an abrupt about-face by declaring that he would not order the U.S. military to violate international laws to fight terrorism. 
 
 After advocating the killing of terrorists' families and the benefits of waterboarding, Trump reversed course after condemnation from former cabinet members, lawmakers and intelligence and military officials, some of whom denounced him as "utterly unfitted to the office" of president. 
 
 Others suggested that the military would be within its rights to refuse to obey those orders. 
 
 But in a statement Friday, Trump said that he understands "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 and will seek their advice on such matters." 
 
 He added, "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." 
 
 The statement was first reported in The Wall Street Journal. 
 
 Katrina Pierson, a Trump spokeswoman, said the candidate had been misunderstood. 
 
 "He realized they took him literally, that's why he put out the statement," she told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room." "What he's saying is that he wants to go after them with the full force of everything we have." 
 
 Neither the statement nor the campaign's explanations were enough to quell the bipartisan uproar. 
 
 The lead Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, said that while Trump "has now said he would obey the law, he has yet to specifically disavow torture or killing the families of our enemies." 
 
 "Let's be clear," Schiff said in a statement Friday, "these are war crimes, no matter who is ordering them or carrying them out." 
 
 Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, released a letter to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, on Friday asking for his thoughts on the legality of Trump's stance. 
 
 "What impact would this policy have on our war effort?" he asked. 
 
 Defense experts condemn Trump 
 
 Trump's position seems to have shifted dramatically in less than 24 hours. 
 
 During Thursday night's debate on Fox News, Trump reaffirmed his willingness to target the families of terrorists and supported the use of waterboarding, implying a willingness to use torture. 
 
 "We should go for waterboarding and we should go tougher than waterboarding," he said. 
 
 His previous endorsement of these tactics had drawn condemnation from former defense and intelligence officials. 
 
 Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen told CNN Thursday that "the notion that we would attack and kill the families of terrorists is something that contravenes everything the United States stands for in this world." 
 
 Cohen warned that if the military carried out these orders, they could face a Nuremberg-like trial, saying, "we have to be concerned about that you have an order given by the commander in chief which violates every sense of law and order, international law and order, that would make any of those who carried out that dictum such to be a violation of the international criminal code." 
 
 JUST WATCHED With Trump's orders, military could face Nuremberg-like trial Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH With Trump's orders, military could face Nuremberg-like trial 02:46 
 
 And former CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden, speaking of Trump, told HBO this week that "if he were to order that once in government, the American armed forces would refuse to act." 
 
 "You are required not to follow an unlawful order. That would be in violation of all the international laws of armed conflict," Hayden said. 
 
 CNN analyst and retired Army Major Gen. James "Spider" Marks agreed, telling CNN Friday, "You are required to follow orders but you are also required to think, to use your judgment. And if an order is illegal you can't go down that path. You cannot follow that order." 
 
 Trump had initially dismissed this line of criticism and during the debate told the moderators that the military would indeed carry out his orders. 
 
 "They won't refuse. They're not going to refuse me. Believe me," Trump said. 
 
 Trump's earlier statements were among those that prompted a group of more than 100 leaders in the Republican foreign policy and national security community to write an open letter Wednesday condemning Trump and pledging to oppose his presidential candidacy. 
 
 They called his stance on torture "inexcusable" in the letter, first posted Wednesday night on the website warontherocks.com 
 
 The authors of the strongly worded letter included Michael Chertoff, the former director of Homeland Security, Robert Zoellick, the former president of the World Bank, and dozens of other former Republican presidential administration officials and conservative think tank members. 
 
 Speaking to CNN's Anderson Cooper Friday night, Hayden applauded Trump's reversal but was still left with nagging questions. 
 
 "I was quite heartened to see it," Hayden said before asking, "What was the worldview that prompted those statements in the first place?" ||||| WASHINGTON—Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said Friday he wouldn’t order the U.S. military to break international laws—an attempt to tamp down criticism by military and legal experts that his policies on torture and killing terrorists’ family members would violate the Geneva Conventions. 
 
 The clarification was one of two Mr. Trump made after Thursday night’s raucous presidential debate. The second concerned his position on visas for highly skilled immigrants. He appeared in the debate to strike a new position... ||||| Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Donald Trump has repeatedly advocated the use of water-boarding to interrogate suspects 
 
 US Republican front-runner Donald Trump has softened his stance on torture, saying he would not order the military to break international law. 
 
 Mr Trump had indicated in a TV debate on Thursday he might order troops to carry out water-boarding "and tougher" on terrorism suspects. 
 
 On Friday, he said "as president I will be bound by laws". 
 
 The US has now banned water-boarding and it is widely considered a form of torture. 
 
 Water-boarding is the practice of pouring water over someone's face to mimic drowning as an interrogation tactic. 
 
 Katty Kay: Europe hates Trump 
 
 US election 2016: Super Tuesday results 
 
 The legal classification of water-boarding is not clear, although many human rights and legal experts as well as politicians regard it as torture. 
 
 It became debated in the US after the administration of George W Bush said legal counsel allowed it to be used in the interrogation of suspects. However, the practice was later halted. 
 
 In the Fox News TV debate for Republican hopefuls on Thursday, Mr Trump said: "Can you imagine? Can you imagine these people, these animals over in the Middle East, that chop off heads, sitting around talking and seeing that we're having a hard problem with water-boarding? 
 
 "We should go for water-boarding and we should go tougher than water-boarding," 
 
 When asked what he would do if troops refused to carry out the procedure, he said: "They won't refuse. They're not going to refuse me. Believe me." 
 
 But on Friday he issued a much softer statement, saying he would use "every legal power" to stop terrorists. 
 
 "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." 
 
 Conference abandoned 
 
 Earlier on Friday, Mr Trump dropped out of a major conservative political conference, opting instead to campaign in Kansas and Florida. 
 
 He was scheduled to speak on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a gathering of conservative activists in Maryland. 
 
 Organisers CPAC tweeted: "Very disappointed Donald Trump has decided at the last minute to drop out of CPAC - his choice sends a clear message to conservatives." 
 
 His fellow Republican presidential candidates are all expected to speak. 
 
 The statement said Mr Trump looked forward to attending next year, "hopefully as president of the United States". 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The Romney-Trump bromance turned sour 
 
 The decision could further damage an already-strained relationship with the Republican party establishment. 
 
 Mr Trump was attacked on Thursday by former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who remains a central figure within the party. 
 
 Mr Romney called the businessman a "phony" and a "fraud" and said his controversial policies threatened to make the world less safe. 
 
 At the TV debate, Mr Trump also came under attack from Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who criticised him for changing his position on various issues. 
 
 Mr Trump admitted he had changed his stance on issues but argued that flexibility was a strength. 
 
 Republicans in four states - Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Maine - go to the polls on Saturday. The billionaire has won 10 of the 15 states that have voted so far, with his promise to "make America great again". 
 
 Your browser does not support the iframe HTML tag. Try viewing this in a modern browser like Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Internet Explorer 9 or later. 
 
 Election calendar: Next races 
 
 5 March: Kansas caucuses, Louisiana primary, Kentucky and Maine caucuses (Republican), Nebraska caucuses (Democratic) 
 
 6 March: Maine caucuses (Democratic) 
 
 8 March: Hawaii and Idaho caucuses (Republican), Idaho primary (Republican), Michigan and Mississippi primaries 
 
 15 March: Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio primaries
– Apparently having slept on it, on Friday Donald Trump walked back the endorsement he gave to torturing terrorists and killing their families during the GOP debate Thursday night, the Wall Street Journal reports. "We should go for waterboarding, and we should go tougher than waterboarding," CNN quotes Trump as saying during the debate. The BBC points out the US has banned waterboarding, which is "widely considered" to be torture. Trump also said he would authorize the military to target the families of terrorists as a deterrent. Critics say both of those policies would violate international laws, including the Geneva Convention, and possibly lead to war crime charges. "I will not order a military officer to disobey the law," Trump said in a statement on Friday. "It is clear that as president I will be bound by laws just like all Americans.” CNN calls it a dramatic shift "in less than 24 hours." And the Journal notes Trump's reversal comes "after months of insisting that he wouldn’t back down." But he had been facing serious criticism over his statements. A former CIA director last week said the military would refuse to obey orders to torture terrorists or kill their families. Trump addressed that possibility during the debate, saying "They're not going to refuse me" and "If I say do it, they’re going to do it." A former secretary of defense said the plan to kill terrorists' families, especially, goes against "everything the United States stands for in this world."