SAN ANTONIO – For seven years, Amin Alsuliman and Dr. Khaled Tarboush have led different lives in San Antonio united by a shared fear for their family members in Syria.
"It's very stressful for the people here, because we hear the news. We see the pictures, and we don't know what's going on there," Tarboush said Thursday from his San Antonio dentist office.
"You are not going to be safe in Syria anywhere," Alsuliman said, sitting in his restaurant, Syrian Kitchen. "You go out of your house, you don't know if you're going to come back or not."
President Donald Trump has been talking of a strike on Syria following a suspected chemical weapons attack. Although Alsuliman and Tarboush share concerns about their loved ones, the two men, who both immigrated to the United States long before the war began, have different views on the conflict.
Asked about the suspected attack, Alsuliman immediately blamed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
"I knew he was going to use it too many times," Alsuliman said. "He's not going to give up. He wants to stay in power forever."
Tarboush, however, considers himself neutral in regards to the war, and cautioned against a jump to conclusions.
"There is no proof yet," Tarboush said of the regime's involvement. "We cannot judge and start, like firing a missile against Syria with no proof."
Alsuliman, however, has made up his mind about Assad and hopes the United States and the world at large will help get rid of the Syrian strongman.
"He crossed the red lines too many times," Alsuliman said. "So you can expect more if they don't stop him somehow. They have to stop him somehow."
Tarboush hopes for a political path to peace.
"War is going to take you nowhere," Tarboush said. "I mean, seven years. What did we gain? Nothing. They should realize war and fighting has no end."
