A group of students from various WSU political organizations gathered on the Glenn Terrell Friendship Mall on Tuesday to protest the U.S. government’s recent military action in Syria.

The College Republicans primarily organized the event but, in what was considered a “tri-partisan” effort, executive members of both the WSU Young Democrats and the Young Americans for Liberty attended and joined the protest.

This event, which 10-15 students attended, comes after President Donald Trump ordered a unilateral airstrike against a Syrian airfield on April 6. The airfield was believed to be the source of a deadly chemical attack that killed 80 civilians in Syria. The U.S. responded by launching 59 tomahawk cruise missiles in the first ever direct U.S. attack on the Syrian regime.

This action was in stark contrast to the non-interventionist platform Trump ran on during his campaign. When announcing the strike, the president said he had been moved by the horrific scenes of the chemical attack.

The strike targeted aircraft, air defense systems, aircraft shelters and other assets, which were described as vital to the airfield’s operations.

“We don’t support Donald Trump’s action to strike Syria,” said James Allsup, president of the WSU College Republicans. “We are concerned about getting involved in another Middle Eastern foreign intervention.”

Allsup said the idea behind the event was to show that no matter who you voted for in the primaries, it is now time to hold the president accountable to the policies on which he ran. Allsup highlighted the president’s changing stances on immigration, foreign intervention and free trade.

“Those [stance changes] are concerns for people who voted for Trump,” Allsup said. “Most of us voted for Trump to be strong on those issues.”

Some of the other protesters discussed their concerns that these attacks echoed the beginning of the Iraq War. David Mclerran, president of the Young Americans for Liberty, held a sign that said “not another Iraq.”

“We should not be involved in other countries’ business,” Mclerran said. “We should attack only if we are attacked, and only then.”

Amir Rezamand, vice president of the College Republicans, and Gavin Pielow, president of the Young Democrats, both expressed a similar sentiment. Rezamand said the U.S. does not need another George W. Bush, and that the nation should not engage in other countries’ affairs when they do not directly affect the U.S.

“We do not want a repeat of the catastrophe that was the Iraq War or the Vietnam War,” Pielow said.

Matthew Sutherland, a WSU student who is currently running for U.S. Congress and a member of the Young Democrats, also attended the event. He spoke about his opposition to the airstrikes, mentioning his own personal connections with the military.

“It worries me that we are going to continue this tradition in our country of having long-term engagements in the Middle East,” Sutherland said.

Throughout the year all three organizations have expressed differing opinions on hot-button issues. They are set to debate on April 20.

“Throughout our differences, and there may be several, and quite contentious,” Sutherland said, “I think it’s nice to see that we can come together in some sort of way that reflects that we are humanitarian at the end of the day.”