In the Turkish capital's back rooms, security officials and decision makers had been talking about their concerns about the situation in northern Syria for some time. A few months back, I had addressed this issue in a column titled "Turkey challenged by Russia and the United States." Although reluctant at first, the Obama administration has been open about sharing intelligence and weapons with the Democratic Union Party (PYD) - a policy to which Turkey reacted strongly.

Here's where Turkey stands: The PYD and its military wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG), are closely linked to the PKK, a globally recognized terrorist organization that Turkey has been fighting for three decades. Although the organizations have different names, their leaders are the same: YPG militants in northern Syria have been receiving instructions from the PKK command in northern Iraq. Having gathered sufficient evidence of the organic ties between the PYD and the PKK, Turkey urges its allies to stop assisting the PYD in order to allow Turkey to fight terrorists effectively. Washington, in turn, claims that the PKK and the PYD/YPG are two distinct organizations to condemn the former and support the latter.

To be clear, the government's basic argument makes sense. In recent months, the security forces have seized a vast amount of U.S. weapons and ammunition shipped to the PYD/YPG in PKK safehouses across Turkey. In other words, the evidence indicates that the PYD/YPG militants have shipped U.S. weapons to PKK members. In the meantime, a large number of terrorists have crossed the Turkish border to participate in deadly assaults against Turkish troops and civilians.

According to The Times, the PYD leadership reiterated their commitment to the PKK ideology by renaming the Menagh Military Air Base, which they recently seized, after PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan. Here's why the symbolic gesture matters: Turkey is fighting a single terrorist organization that is called the PKK at home and the PYD across the Syrian border. Fully aware of the facts on the ground, the Obama administration has been trying to legitimize its cooperation with a terrorist group by presenting the YPG as the most effective ground force against DAESH. The PKK's Syrian franchise, they say, is fighting DAESH.Behind the smokescreen of fighting DAESH, the YPG militants have been trying to seize new territories across northern Syria. In the process, thousands of Turkmens, Arabs and even members of rival Kurdish groups have been forcibly removed from their native lands. Last week, the YPG, in cooperation with Russia, has turned against the moderate rebels in Azaz. While calling on the group to stop their ground offensive, the Obama administration told Turkish officials that they were supporting certain groups within the YPG who are fighting DAESH but not the militants attacking the moderates - which Turkey saw as a sign of disrespect.

In recent months, the Obama administration's unconditional support for the PKK's Syrian franchise put additional strains on Turkey-U.S. relations. Finally, Turkey started shelling YPG positions in northern Syria citing attacks against Azaz, where the Turkish government wants to create a safe zone to host refugees. The most recent developments raised expectations that Turkey, in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, would launch a ground operation in the area. Riyadh's announcement that Saudi jets would be deployed to İncirlik Air Base strengthened the international media's convictions.

According to a senior Turkish official, the government already has drafted plans for the creation of a safe zone in northern Syria and to launch a ground operation. "We would like launch a joint operation with the United States and other allies," he said.

In the wake of a deadly terror attack in Ankara, which claimed 28 lives, it remains unclear whether Turkey will be equally patient with Washington. Within hours, the authorities identified Saleh Nejar, a 28-year-old Syrian refugee, as the perpetrator. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Thursday said that Nejar was linked to the YPG. The terror attack, which the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) refused to condemn, took place just days after senior PKK official Cemil Bayık warned against impending attacks in major Turkish cities.

The government's initial assessment is that the YPG leadership retaliated against the shelling of their position in northern Syria by perpetrating a suicide attack in Ankara. "They are trying to convey the message that more attacks will follow if Turkey engages in a military operation across the border," security sources said. "For the record, we have received their message."

At this point, Turkey is finalizing its plans to respond to the terror attack. It won't take long for the government to take action.