PORTLAND, Ore. — In the days following Friday's targeted strikes in Syria, rallies were organized in Portland.
One came together on the city's waterfront early Saturday afternoon.
Another wove through downtown a few hours later.
Some were out pushing peace, regardless of Syria's deadly gas attack.
“The idea that we should not be going to war or attacking other countries is not even one that is in the general discourse,” said Alyssa Pariah, a member of Don’t Shoot Portland. “All of the news that I’m seeing is about strategy, how we should attack.”
Others said they came because, in part, they’re afraid of possible repercussions that may follow any action taken by the US.
“Putin said that if we fire on Syria, if we attack Syria, he will attack those who attack,” said Rob Ranta. “And if that happens to be a US warship and they sink it, I don’t' want to think about what's going to happen.”
On Sunday, the Pentagon continued to maintain no civilians were killed by these strikes, which, officials reiterated, targeted storage facilities and other sites, key in maintaining Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons.
Points that don't do a lot to comfort Leila Piazza, who is Syrian American, and was spending time on the Oregon coast Friday, when news of the strikes broke.
“I called my niece in Damascus, and we actually talked while the bombing was happening, and of course I could hear the missile strikes there,” she said.
It's been widely reported that Syrians & Syrian-Americans are divided, both on their feelings over President Bashar Al-Assad's battle with rebel forces and over military intervention by the U.S.
Piazza, whose sister also lives in Syria, wants America to stay out of it.
“As a Syrian I'm disconcerted because we support the president of Syria and we don't want the U.S. government to overthrow the Syrian government," she said. "As an American I'm disconcerted because the U.S. government is taking our tax dollars and using them to overthrow the government that people elected.