Syrian-Americans in Southern California are still trying to process last week's U.S. missile strike aimed at a Syrian airforce base.
The attacks came as a surprise to many. President Donald Trump had frequently criticized intervention in the region.
But images of a chemical weapon attack by Syrian government forces triggered a shift in policy for the Trump administration.
From the Syrian diaspora across the world... reactions have been mixed. That includes Omar Offendum, LA-based Syrian-American hip-hop and spoken word artist.
"I'd be lying if I didn't say I felt like a pretty healthy amount of skepticism and just wonder as to,'Why,' and, 'Why now?'"
Offendum has family still in Syria, and a lot of his work is about the ongoing civil war there. He's been critical of the Assad government in the past. But that doesn't mean he approves of the U.S.'s recent actions.
"For me, the focus is who are the most vulnerable parties and how can we serve them?" he told Take Two's A Martinez. "I just don't see something bombing an empty airfield really helping us kind of alleviate any of that."
Offendum says that reactions to the U.S. missile strikes have varied amongst those he talks to. "There are people who say that they wish this is what Obama did back when he drew a red line. There are people who don't believe that the gas attacks were even committed by the people they say they were committed by."
But since this is such a personal issue for Offendum, he tries to channel his feelings into his work. "At the end of the day it's about a rallying point using my art, my music, my activism, my platform ... to bring people together to talk about this in a healthy constructive way," Offendum said.
"To remind people that this is potentially a developmental disaster when you talk about hundreds of thousands of children who have been out of school for this long ... how do we deal with these issues? Those are what are really critical to me."
Offendum is especially disappointed that the money used to carry out the recent attack was not put to the use of activism groups such as Islamic Relief USA and the Karam foundation.
"The ... smiles, just open hearts that you can fill with that kind of money and time and coordination," he said.
"The efforts are not being put in the right direction."
Offendum will next be performing at UC San Diego on April 20th and UC Santa Barbara on May 4th.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above