Small Wars Journal

President Trump Proposes Radical New Rules of Engagement for Troops Along Border

Fri, 11/02/2018 - 1:01am

President Trump Proposes Radical New Rules of Engagement for Troops Along Border – Associated Press

President Donald Trump says he told the U.S. military mobilizing at the Southwest border that if migrants try to throw rocks at them, the troops should act as though the rocks are a “rifle.”

 

Trump made the comments Thursday in a speech on immigration at the White House. During his comments, he was asked if U.S. troops might fire on migrants:

 

“It’s the military. I hope there won’t be that,” Trump said. “Anybody throwing stones, rocks, like they did ... to the Mexican police, where they badly hurt police and soldiers of Mexico ... we will consider that a firearm, because there’s not much difference where you get hit in the face with a rock.”

 

As caravans of migrants from Central America are slowly winding north, one group got into a violent confrontation with Mexican police at the border with Guatemala, throwing rocks. Trump appeared to refer to that conflict.

 

“They are throwing rocks viciously and violently. You saw that three days ago, really hurting the military," he said. “We are not going to put up with that. If they want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back. I told them to consider it a rifle. When they throw rocks like they did at the Mexico military and police, I say consider it a rifle.”…

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