I lost the plot back when Chomsky broke with tradition and said it was a good thing the US was dropping bombs in support of the Kurds... I stopped following along then, but I don't think even then I understood that conflict.

Is there a good write-up somewhere that outlines the basics of this?

I've found some document from the PKK about "Democratic Confederation" which my anarchist acquaintances really talk up, but I also thought they were ML's?