Liberty and Security Headlines for Aug. 3, 2017

The Cold Civil War

While leaving Obama-era holdovers in place, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster continues his purge of Trump Administration officials viewed as pro-Israel and loyal to the president. According to Caroline Glick, McMaster refers to Israel as an “occupying power.”
Special Counsel Robert Mueller picks yet another Obama appointee to the investigation into Russia’s purported efforts to influence the presidential election. Mueller has packed his team with Obama appointees and contributors to the Hillary Clinton campaign and the troubled Clinton Foundation.
U.S. Congressman Trent Franks declared that Mueller’s conflict of interest is in violation of the law and that Mueller should resign.

War on Jihad/War of Ideas

An American ISIS supporter in Akron, Ohio has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for “disseminating ISIS’s violent rhetoric, circulating U.S. military personnel information and explicitly calling for the killing of American service members.”
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a NATO convoy near Kandahar, Afghanistan which has killed two U.S. troops and wounded four.
A top Iranian general publicly boasted about the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq by his Qud’s Force. The Pentagon estimates that some 500 American servicemen died as a result of Iranian-supplied explosively formed projectiles, capable of destroying armored vehicles.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reports that Google has manipulated search results on “jihad,” “sharia,” and other Islamic concepts to display positive information. Virtually every mention of jihad in the Quran refers to offensive war against non-Muslims.
A New Jersey town which seeks to host a new “mega mosque” has banned criticism of Islam, in accordance with Sharia Law.

Other news

The Pentagon wants to send “defensive” anti-armor missiles and other lethal weapons to Ukraine, which has been engaged with pro-Russian forces for the past three years. The United States currently provides training to Ukraine, as well as non-lethal military equipment.
The Commandant of the Coast Guard has declared he will fight Trump’s ban on transsexuals in the military.
The State Department has released its 2016 Country Reports on Terrorism