But another disturbing development has surfaced: The United States appears to have undercut – perhaps even betrayed – Kurdish militias, the only truly effective fighting force so far in the war against ISIS.

That setback severely dented Mr Erdogan’s ambition to change the constitution and hand more powers to the presidency. Years of increasing AKP authoritarianism coupled with a sagging Turkish economy created fertile ground for an unlikely challenger to the president’s grand plans: the Kurds.

A senior military U.S. official tried to downplay it by telling the Journal that mustard gas had to be used in high volumes in order for it to be deadly, and that it didn’t seem like ISIS had a lot of it. The move comes after heated debate in German society over Turkey’s stance towards North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the West. But those 32 young men were Kurds, not Turks.

Both groups have a Marxist ideology and background, although the PKK is essentially a national movement. “Police forces also set six houses on fire and opened fire on the ambulances that were carrying the wounded civilians to the hospital”, reported Kurdishquestion website.

Demirtas said the Obama administration could help ease the toxic political situation in Turkey by encouraging peace talks between Erdogan’s government and the PKK, which the U.S. officially lists as a terrorist group. Many countries have a scapegoat or an old foe that the state can rally against to boost morale, divert attention or rally nationalist sentiment.

Prime Minister Davutoglu said he would like elections to be organized as soon as possible. The PYD and its armed wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), are the ones behind the only significant success in fighting ISIS: the reconquest of the town of Kobane.

According to an AFP toll, 30 members of the security forces have been killed in PKK-linked violence since the current crisis began. “Not tomorrow, not next week, we want peace today, at this hour”, Demirtas said in Turkey’s southeastern province of Mardin on Wednesday.

Responding to criticism from opposition parties that he is directly interfering in politics in order to gain a supermajority in the parliament, Mr Erdogan said: “You can either accept it or not”.

Most U.S. aerial combat missions over Iraq and Syria are being flown from more distant air bases in Qatar and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region, although the U.S. also is flying F-16s from Muwaffaq Salti air base in Jordan.

Ultimately, politics is a nasty business and the Kurds have long received the short end of the stick.

Last week (Aug07), PKK fighters fired a rocket at an armored auto in the town of Cizre killing one police officer and injured another.