Great stuff, Daniel. Loved the report. I visited much of this area in '08 (the week of Obama's election). I'm American, and the Kurds were incredibly pro-American - literally was offered free food every single day. The mountains of Northern Iraq are beautiful, as are sites like the old Erbil fort. On the Syrian side, I showed up with no visa and was allowed to sleep in the bunks of the border post, chatting with the guards about writers like Alaa al Aswany, until a visa could be procured the next day. Heading over to Aleppo, I recall a young Kurd coming up to me while at the Citadel and discussing at length Assad's repression of the NE Kurds.

It's disappointing to see Ocalan on the banners, but also incredible to see the bravery of the locals, especially the all-female fighting force!