Does Syria really want to reconcile with Kurds?
The future of Syrian Kurds is uncertain, but they have at least made it obvious that things must change.
![MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-HASAKA A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) carries his weapon as he walks at the faculty of economics where a defaced picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in the background, in the Ghwairan neighborhood of Hasaka, Syria, August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2MKNT](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2017/01/RTX2MKNT.jpg/RTX2MKNT.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=qFUL_nrj)
QAMISHLI, Syria — Syrian Kurds are working quietly but feverishly to build a state entity with its own security, economy and sociocultural bodies. But what if Damascus rejects this system and opts for war?
I recently traveled through the country, taking the main road controlled by the Syrian army between the airport and the compound of public offices outside Qamishli. Just past the government-controlled section of the road is an orgy of wall graffiti. Competing for space are posters of the Islamic State (IS), Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and the Free Syrian Army; black-framed photographs of those killed in clashes with the army; and portraits of imprisoned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan.