2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq day of the operation, Turkish President Abdullah Gül made a telephone call to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd, to brief him on the details of the incursion. He also invited Talabani to come to Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the night the ground operation began, and later U.S. President George W. Bush. The United States was guarded in its response to the incursion, requesting that Turkey take care to only target the PKK, to "limit the scope and duration of their operations," and to work with Iraqi
Bülent Ecevit went to the United States in the mid–1950s on a State Department fellowship, and worked at two newspapers in North Carolina. Ecevit was elected into the Turkish parliament for the first time in 1957. He was a Member of the Parliament between 1960 and 1961 during the 26th, 27th and 28th governments. Ecevit served as the Minister of Labour between 1961 and 1965, contributing to the acceptance of the right to strike and collective agreement. In 1966 he became the secretary general of the Republican People's Party (, CHP). In 1971 he resigned from the post as a protest to