A number of American activists and Syrian expatriates gathered on Saturday in Times Square in New York City and outside the White House in Washington to voice their opposition to another war in the Middle East.

The protesters carried signs reading, "No more wars for corporate profit," and "Cut the Pentagon, not food stamps."

In front of the White House, some 150 demonstrators called on Congress to reject Obama’s plan for military strike on Syria.

“People are dubious about the intelligence because we aren’t being told much. We aren’t being given any specific details instead we’re being told trust us,” retired US State Department official Ann Wright said.

Many Republican and Democratic lawmakers are against Obama's request for Congress to authorize the use of military force against Syria.

A number of recent opinion polls show that the majority of Americans oppose taking military action against the Syrian government.

President Obama is scheduled to make an address from the White House on Tuesday to make his case for military action, a day after Congress reconvenes to discuss his military option for Syria.

The call for military action against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the Syrian government of launching a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.

Damascus has strongly ruled out the accusations, saying the chemical attack was carried out by the militants themselves as a false flag operation.

NTJ/SHI