Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who met Bush at the White House, has made clear he wants concrete action from Washington to combat PKK, which has been launching attacks on Turkey from Iraqi soil.

While not directly discussing his plans regarding military action, Prime Minister Erdoğan reminded Bush that Turkey's parliament last month had authorized the government to take action across the border if necessary. “This is a mandate for a cross-border operation that solely aims (at) the PKK. It cannot and it does not cover civilians,” Erdoğan said said through a translator. At a separate appearance at the National Press Club later, Erdoğan said he was happy with the talks he had with Bush.