The war begins: Breitbart.com attacks McMaster as 'Koran-kissing' terrorist sympathizer

"Alt-right" hub Breitbart.com stepped up its ongoing war with White House National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster on Sunday, accusing him of being soft on Islamic terrorists because the lieutenant general endorsed a book about Islamic cultural respect.

The Hill said on Sunday that the broadside against McMaster stems from his support of a training manual for military personnel regarding Muslim customs around treatment of the faith's holy book, the Koran.

The book serves as a guide to how "not to inflame religious tensions with Muslim populations in countries where American troops are deployed," the Hill said.

Breitbart.com -- which ousted White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon called his "killing machine" on Friday -- reframed this as "H.R. McMaster Endorsed Book That Advocates Quran-Kissing Apology Ceremonies."

The article alleges that McMaster is insufficiently anti-Islam and points to his supposed alignment with billionaire financier -- and perennial right-wing bogeyman -- George Soros as evidence that McMaster is undermining Trump's agenda from inside the White House.

The Hill said the smear attempt is an extension of the internecine feud that raged behind the scenes at the White House between Bannon and McMaster.

Bannon made it clear in a series of tough-talking interviews that he plans to weaponize Breitbart.com and its readers against the Republican establishment and Bannon's enemies in the White House. One Breitbart editor on Friday tweeted the hashtag "#War" as news spread of Bannon's firing.

The task may be something of a heavy lift, however, given that the alt-right website's readership has dropped off steeply since the 2016 election and an ongoing boycott campaign has cost Breitbart.com 90 percent of its advertisers.