LONDON – President Bush yesterday said Turkey is a new front in the war on terror and called Turkey’s prime minister to reaffirm solidarity in that battle a day after double bombings rocked Istanbul.
Bush made the call from Air Force One on the final day of his state visit to Britain – and also pledged to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan that he’ll get U.S. and British intelligence help to hunt down the killers.
“I told him our prayers are with his people,” the president said. “I told him that we will work with him to defeat terror and that the terrorists have decided to use Turkey as a front.”
“The best way to defeat al Qaeda-type killers is to share intelligence and then work with local authorities to hunt these killers down. Great Britain has got a fantastic intelligence service and we’ve got a good one as well.”
Asked if Turkey has joined Iraq as a new front in the terror war, Bush replied: “It sure is. Anywhere where the terrorists think they can strike is a front.”
The Istanbul bombs were the first terror strikes directly targeted at British interests – the consulate and London-based HSBC bank – in what was widely seen as an al Qaeda bid to disrupt Bush’s visit to Britain.
If the Istanbul bombs were meant to shake Bush’s close alliance with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, it didn’t work – if anything, the bombs deepened those ties as both leaders renewed their vow to fight terror.
“When you’re attacked by people, by these wicked acts, there is only one response that is possible to make, and that is to get out there and be absolutely up front and say, ‘We are not tolerating this, we’re going to fight back,’ ” Blair said.
“We’re in this together,” the British prime minister added.
Bush’s trip got mostly favorable reviews despite anti-war protests – even the often anti-U.S. British Broadcasting Corp. said Bush had “a very positive visit despite the appalling events in Turkey.”
The anti-British bombs came just days after two other terror hits in Turkey targeted Jewish synagogues.
Turkey is a democratic Muslim state and close U.S. ally that Bush sees as a Mideast model.
Bush has met with ErdoGan, and he spoke warmly of how both have deep religious faith – Turkey refused to join the Iraq war, but later offered peacekeeping troops, although Iraq’s Governing Council rejected the offer.
Bush made the call to Turkey early yesterday as he flew from London to Blair’s home district in Sedgefield, northeast England, before heading home to Washington.
After the gilded pomp of Buckingham Palace, Bush wrapped up his state visit with a working-class lunch of fish, chips and mushy peas and a stop at a local school.
The cholesterol-busting lunch of fried battered cod came complete with cream soup, créme brulee and nonalcoholic beer at the Dun Cow Inn, where dozens of invited guests welcomed Bush and a cake bore a U.S. flag.