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.
