An ex-aide to Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) lashed out at Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for insinuating the former had consorted with Islamic State militants, also known as Daesh, and called him a conspiracy theorist who does not stand a chance of winning in the 2016 presidential elections.

Mark Salter, McCain's former chief of staff and presidential campaign adviser, made the comments on a Real Clear Politics article published Tuesday.

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"...I'm not sure which characterization - dissembler or crackpot - would be more generous," Salter wrote, referring to Paul who previously remarked on McCain's trip to Syria and implied the Arizona senator had met with Daesh militants and took a photo with them.

The controversial photo was taken on May 2013 when McCain travelled to Syria to meet with members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), most of whom belong to the Northern Storm brigade serving under the FSA's military council.

When the photo was made public, Daesh declared it needed to behead everyone in the picture. In fact, after the McCain-FSA meeting, most from the Northern Storm brigade were killed by Daesh, said Mouaz Moustafa, director of the Syrian task force.

Soon after, internet and media distortion suggested the fighters in the photo were ISIL militants.

The claim has since been deemed untrue.

Either way, this just confirms that Paul is totally unsuited to be president, Salter said.

He took it a step further when he said this incident would partly cause Paul's defeat in the 2016 GOP nominations.

While the Kentucky Republican has yet to confirm his candidacy, many see him as a likely contender.

But even if he decides not to run for president, Paul still deserves to be criticized for his "libels," McCain's former aide wrote, adding that the media shouldn't be too trusting of his political abilities.

Both parties have their fair share of "conspiracy fetishists" and none of them were ever nominated or elected as president, Salter said.

TagsJohn McCain, Rand Paul, Mark Salter, ISIL, Free Syrian Army, 2016 nominations, presidential elections