The massive civil war in Syria seemingly has no end in sight. With all parties seemingly not willing to give in, the bloody conflict, which has claimed more than 400,000 lives, will wage on for the foreseeable future. There are seemingly mo positives that can come of this conflict, but there is one that can be considered a positive, the positive emergence of an independent Kurdistan.

Kurdistan is a region of northern Syria and Iraq and southern Turkey. The people of this region have long been vying for independence, and have often been the target of discrimination and war crimes. The most notable of these acts is perhaps the Halabja chemical attack, in which then-Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein used mustard gas and sarin, a nerve agent, against the city of Halabja. Anywhere between 3,200 and 5,000 people were killed in what still stands as the largest chemical weapon attack against civilians in history.

However, since the emergence of the Syrian Civil War, the Kurds have been very competent in gaining their own territory from ISIS, despite the fighting they have been facing on two fronts, against Turkey and ISIS. However, this hasn’t stopped the Kurdish ambitions, as they have clearly stated that they are building their own state, essentially telling the world powers that they have to come to terms with an independent Kurdistan. This comes despite harsh Turkish criticism to an independent Kurdish state, as President Recip Tayyip Erdogan likening them to ISIS.

However, despite Turkey’s concerns, the time for an independent Kurdistan is long overdue. They have long been looking for independence, the closest they have come to achieving this goal was when Saddam Hussein granted them autonomy in the early 1990s. The hypothetical Kurdish state could be a major ally to the U.S. and their goals in the Middle East, as their fight against ISIS has largely been helped by the U.S., and their general openness to assisting the American agenda.

Despite major opposition from a major regional ally in Turkey, the U.S. must fight for an independent Kurdistan, as the people of the region have been fighting for their freedom and they could be a major ally in the Middle East, assisting with major goals and operations in the region.