President George Bush on Monday commended President General Pervez Musharraf for his "concerted decision" to go after al Qaeda suspects in the tribal areas.
"Musharraf has made a concerted decision to go after al-Qaeda which hides in remote regions of his country on the Afghanistan border.
He said this in response to a question, in the live telecast news conference by the US President along with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Istanbul where they are now attending the Nato summit.
President Bush's remarks mainly pertained to early handover of power to Iraqis earlier on Monday.
Elaborating the three-year accomplishments in respect of ongoing war on terrorism, he said, Afghanistan and Iraq are free today.
Afghanistan, he said, used to be a terrorists' haven.
"This is where terrorists plotted and trained to come and kill not only America but elsewhere is now heading towards elections." Three years ago, no one could think of elections in Afghanistan, he stated.
There is a substantive change in a short period of time, he said. He, however, said, there still was work ahead.
Libya has declared an end of its weapons programs, he said. He said, Turkey has "solid democracy" in the broader Middle East, which is a great example.