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Facebook WASHINGTON  President Bush asked Turkey's leader on Monday not to invade northern Iraq and pledged to help the country battle Kurdish rebels by sharing surveillance and trying to cut off their ability to raise money. Bush also declared the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, a "terrorist organization" after his Oval Office meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "They're an enemy of Turkey, they're an enemy of Iraq, and they're an enemy of the United States," Bush told reporters. Erdogan, through an interpreter, noted that his Parliament authorized a military strike in Iraq "if necessary." He said the Oct. 17 vote was "a mandate for a cross-border operation that solely aims at the PKK. It cannot and it does not cover civilians." Speaking later at the National Press Club, Erdogan said Turkey has the right to defend itself, "and we are at the point of using our right emanating from international law." The Turkish leader also said he told Bush during their meeting that he wants a peaceful Iraq, "because their stability is our stability." Asked how he would react to a Turkish invasion into Iraq, Bush said, "I don't like to answer hypothetical questions." The PKK wants a separate Kurdish state and has fought a two-decade battle to separate the area from Turkey. Turkey now has troops stationed on its border with Iraq, next to an area in Iraq controlled by the Kurds, and has been shelling PKK positions. The Kurdish area of Iraq has long been considered the most stable part of that country. The United States and Turkey have been discussing possible responses to the PKK for weeks. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other U.S. officials have often cited Turkey's importance as a key supply route for U.S. troops in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Israel that "we clearly are going to have to take action to deal with the PKK threat," but she did not elaborate. Rice said the United States also has made clear to Turkey that "anything that would just make northern Iraq unstable" would not serve long-term, regional interests. Bush told Erdogan that the United States would provide intelligence help so that the U.S., Turkish and Iraqi military could track the movement of PKK rebels "on a real-time basis using modern technology." Bush said it is important to know "who they are and where they are in order to make any strategy effective." Addressing comments to the Turkish people, Bush said Erdogan made it clear that PKK attacks are a serious problem. "He expects there to be action, and I agree," Bush said. The Bush administration has worked to defeat a proposed congressional resolution condemning alleged genocide of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Turkey has denied that genocide took place. A final House vote has yet to be scheduled. In his remarks at the Press Club, Erdogan said he greeted the vote delay with "cautious optimism. This draft has the potential to deeply damage our strategic cooperation." Contributing: Donna Leinwand Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Enlarge By Osman Orsal, Reuters A Turkish soldier patrols in the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak, bordering Iraq, on Monday. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.
Oval Office on November 5, 2007.
On Monday, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid an official state visit to the United States. During his visit, he met with President George W. Bush in the White House for talks that centered on the Turkey-PKK conflict and the Iraq War.

Turkey is concerned about attacks by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that originate from within the borders of Iraq. There have been cross-border clashes between Turkey and the PKK. Turkey has threatened a major incursion, something the US seeks to avoid, as it could upset the relative calm in northern Iraq. The PKK has been listed as a terrorist organization by a number of countries and organizations. The PKK's goal has been to create an independent socialist Kurdish state in a territory which it claims as Kurdistan, an area that comprises parts of south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Iraq, north-eastern Syria and north-western Iran.

After the meeting, Bush said of the PKK that "they are an enemy of Turkey, they are an enemy of Iraq, and they are an enemy of the United States." He pledged additional intelligence to help Turkey, an offer that was also made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week, during her Middle East tour.



Bush further offered mutual military assistance with both Turkey and Iraq to fight the PKK. "We want to work in a close way to deal with this problem," he said.

Erdogan mentioned during the post-meeting news conference that the Grand National Assembly of Turkey has already authorized military action in Iraq. He did not, however, say whether such action would be imminent.



Neither leader indicated to what level, if any, that direct military cooperation would exist.

Ali Babacan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Turkey, was last week not so impressed by Rice's offers. "We are at the point where words have been exhausted and where there is need for action," he said on Friday.

"The Bush administration would like to just kick this can down the road," said Bulent Aliriza, a political observer for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The problem is, the can has been kicked down the road to the point where now it can't be kicked anymore."