Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dismissed reports in some Turkish news-media outlets that a retired U.S. general played a role in the recent failed military coup there. “That’s an absurd report,” Dunford said at a July 25 Pentagon press conference. The officer in question, retired Army Gen. John F. Campbell, also denied any involvement. Campbell served as NATO commander and vice chief of staff of the Army while on active duty. “He’s a personal friend and I happen to know that right now he’s doing a lot of things and one of them is not planning a coup inside of Turkey,” Dunford said.