Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Adm. James Stavridis said Monday that the attempted coup in NATO member Turkey last week was a victory for the Islamic State terrorist group.
A failed military coup to depose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday resulted in hundreds being killed. Erdogan’s ensuing crackdown has been portrayed as ruthless, with thousands being arrested and images released of coup members stripped nearly naked and handcuffed in horse stables.
Speaking with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on New Day, Stavridis explained that Turkey’s utility in the war against ISIS would be diminished through the country’s ongoing instability.
"This is a very bad moment in the fight against ISIS, unfortunately," he said. "Why? Because a great deal of the military effort is moving out of bases in southern Turkey. We do have other alternatives to continue the fight, but the freezing of cooperation along that border, I think, is a real possibility, as our Turkish colleagues sort through the challenges."
"Secondly, Alisyn, the Turkish military itself will be consumed with investigations, retribution, arrests," Stavridis continued. "They will lose their effectiveness as a fighting force in this, so one of the real winners here, if there’s any winner in a coup, is going to be the so-called Islamic State."
Stavridis has reportedly been vetted as a potential running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. When asked about possibly joining the ticket, he joked his name was too long to fit on a bumper sticker alongside Clinton’s.