Administration officials and outside advisers tell The Associated Pres that Mr. McMaster and Mr. Bannon have clashed over Afghanistan war strategy.

The direction of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is at the center of a battle between two of his top aides.

Conservative groups are targeting national security adviser H.R. McMaster. They argue that he’s insufficiently supportive of Israel and not tough enough on Iran. Those critics along with a website tied to Trump adviser Steve Bannon are pushing for Mr. McMaster to be ousted.

Mr. McMaster is one of several powerful generals in Mr. Trump’s orbit who hail from the Republican foreign policy establishment. But Mr. Trump is equally sympathetic to the views of firebrands like Mr. Bannon, who are trying to push the party in a new, isolationist direction embodied by his “America First” doctrine.

Administration officials and outside advisers tell The Associated Pres that Mr. McMaster and Mr. Bannon have clashed over Afghanistan war strategy.