The question of whether the U.S. should take action in Syria played out on Chicago sidewalks Saturday, as protesters on both sides of the issue held rallies to voice their positions.

Signs that read "Obomba" and "Must we bomb everyone?" filled the plaza outside of the Kluczynski Federal Building at noon, along with more than 200 people, many from anti-war groups, who led chants like "Hands off Syria! No new war!"

Many said they hoped their presence would help members of Congress get the message that their constituents aren't interested in what they see as waging a new war in a country where the U.S. has no business.

"People in this country are angry that they were fooled into supporting the war in Iraq, and they don't want to be fooled again," said Joe Iosbaker, 54, who helped organize the protest on behalf of Anti-War Committee of Chicago.

Some at the rally, like Megan Koren, 26, who said she is not affiliated with any advocacy group, said she was there mostly for a personal reason: To make sure there was no new war that her brother, who is in the Army, might be sent to.

"I just don't want more people to die," said Koren, of Oak Brook, who donated a couple of dollars to an anti-war group for a sign that read "Congress: No War on Syria." "I want to protect my brother. That's where my heart is."

Later in the day on Michigan Avenue, about a half-mile from where the anti-war demonstrators gathered, more than 100 people — mostly Syrian-Americans who live in the Chicago area — carried Syrian revolution flags or posters depicting the bodies of Syrian children killed in a suspected chemical attack Aug. 21.

Their message: The Syrian people need the United States' help.

"You're going to save more lives if the United States acts now," said Ammar Sunbulli, 23, of Burr Ridge, a recent college graduate who helped organize the rally with the Syrian American Council.

Sunbulli said many of his fellow protesters favor a targeted strike on government military bases that could weaken the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Azzah Atassi, a retired medical office manager, said she drove from her Valparaiso, Ind., home to take part in the rally with fellow Syrian-Americans.

Atassi said she hopes Congress stands behind President Barack Obama's aim to launch a strike because it would reinforce the "values and humanitarian principles that are important for this world."

While Atassi said "nobody wants war," she said she hopes Obama's support for an intervention is "a sign to the American public."

"For a president whose ticket was against interfering and against wars, he decided to take that action," she said.

Jim Kubik, 42, of Westmont, said he has no personal ties to Syria but saw a YouTube video of a boy suffering after an attack allegedly launched by the Assad regime.

Carrying a flagpole with both an American flag and the Syrian revolution flag, Kubik said he's tired "of seeing the slaughter."

Some who oppose intervention don't "look past their nose" or understand the issues at hand, he said. "This is another Rwanda; this is another 'any other massacre' that's been allowed to happen."

mmanchir@tribune.com

Twitter @TribuneMM