SACRAMENTO –

At the very time President Obama was addressing the nation, anti-war activists came here to the Federal Courthouse in Sacramento to argue against any kind of retaliation.

Chief among them was Vacaville resident Cindy Sheehan, who gained notoriety for camping out near President George W. Bush’s home to protest the war in Iraq after her son was killed there.

Like others here, Sheehan believes that the chemical attack on civilians could have come from rebels, and not the Assad Government.

“Even if he did does this give us the right to bomb them?” Sheehan asked the crowd.

“Hell no,” the crowd responded.

Sheehan believes Vietnam shows that the United States should stay out of another country’s internal disputes.

“It’s all about regime change. We shouldn’t be in the business of regime change,” said Sheehan.

Protestors got plenty of support from passing motorists. Others though are haunted by the images of the chemical attack.

One man saw the protest but believes a military response is justified.

“We sit back and let it happen. We’ve got to do something about this,” said the man

“There has to be a political peaceful solution. We need to end the wars in the Middle East, not start anymore,” said Sheehan.

With the President’s pronouncements today, it appears the debate will continue, not only in the streets of Sacramento, but in the halls of Congress.