Liberty and Security Headlines for Aug. 21, 2017

National Security

• Following a considerable strategic review, President Donald Trump will provide the nation tonight with “an update on the path forward for America’s engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia.” Troop commitments to America’s longest war are under consideration, with over 8,000 American service members currently serving in Afghanistan.
• The Pentagon has identified the Green Beret killed while clearing a building in Afghanistan’s Nargahar Province on Aug. 16 as 27-year-old Utah native Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler. In addition to Butler, 11 soldiers were wounded while clearing a building that unknowingly had been rigged to explode. This brings the number of fallen American troops in Afghanistan to 11 – equaling the number of fatalities in all of 2016.
• Diving operations are underway as crews search for ten missing sailors from USS John S. McCain after the guided-missile destroyer collided with a tanker near Singapore. This incident marks the fourth mishap for the Pacific Fleet since February, with USS Antietam running aground, and USS Fitzgerald and USS Lake Champlain also colliding with vessels.
• Today, 17,500 U.S. and 50,000 South Korean troops begin an annual joint training exercise. Predictably, North Korea is portraying the regularly scheduled drills as a provocation, as the state-run newspaper writes that the drills could ignite a “second Korean War.” Last week, American and Japanese warplanes conducted another joint military exercise , while China has told both it’s bellicose ally and the United States to “hit the brakes” following Kim Jong Un’s threats to attack Guam with nuclear weapons.
• Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials report detailing American and coalition strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.

Cold Civil War

• The so-called “news” organization CNN has published a map of 1,500 Confederate monuments and symbols across the United States, which rioters and protestors can use to continue their campaign to destroy and remove historical landmarks they find offensive. The data reportedly comes from the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center, which also recently teamed with CNN to promote a list of “hate groups” which contained numerous conservative organizations.
• Meanwhile, Jeh Johnson, the former Department of Homeland Security boss during Obama administration, has said that removing Confederate statues is a matter of “public safety and homeland security.”