Turkey coup attempt was a surprise in diplomatic and intelligence circles, says House Homeland Security Committee member

No one saw Friday's failed military coup attempt in Turkey coming, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) of the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday during a radio interview.

"As far as I know, there was no diplomatic talk, there was no intelligence talk of this coup," King remarked. "We know many people in the military [were] dissatisfied and were strongly opposed to President Erdogan, feeling he had become a virtual dictator and he had also purged a number of top people in the military. But no one that I'm aware of saw this coup coming."

King added he believes Erdogan's rule will become "more dictatorial" in the wake of the coup attempt, and that the government's preservation of power is likely the worse outcome for the U.S. war against the Islamic State, because military leadership "probably would have been more effective in fighting ISIS."

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