"Al-Nusra’s willingness to militarily target the PKK will make it difficult to extricate the PKK from Kurdish-populated territories"

'Assad has much more staying power than I expected!'

"... The Islamization of the Syrian opposition is giving the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its local affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a new source of strength and local support. The Muslim Brotherhood’s influence in the Syrian National Council (SNC) and Al-Nusra’s willingness to militarily target the PKK/PYD has helped reinforce the radical Kurdish nationalist group’s image as a defender of a secular Syrian state and Kurdish rights. This trend is occurring as moderate opposition groups fail to coalesce into a viable alternative distinct from Turkish interests. Left unchallenged, the PKK/PYD will become increasingly difficult to extricate from Kurdish-populated territories ..."