# Before 9/11, when was the last time we were attacked 'on American soil'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 8, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699 "2008-09-08T23:30:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/1 "2008-09-08T23:30:27Z")
I’m mostly curious how ‘American soil’ is or should be defined. The common answer to this question is Pearl Harbor, but Hawaii wasn’t a state in 1941. Was it American soil because it was our military base? Should the Cole and various embassies be included in this definition? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/2 "2008-09-08T23:35:40Z")
There was a previous attack on the world trade center buildings on February 26, 1993. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/3 "2008-09-08T23:37:18Z")
Wouldn’t the [World Trade Center Bombings](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_1993_bombings) in 1993 count? Over 1000 injured and 6 dead. ETA: What he said ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/4 "2008-09-08T23:37:21Z")
Attacked by who? For example, would the previous truck bomb attack on the WTC count? Foreign terrorists - similar group to 9/11. Or the Oklahoma City bombing? Domestic terrorists. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/5 "2008-09-08T23:37:46Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I’m mostly curious how ‘American soil’ is or should be defined. The common answer to this question is Pearl Harbor, but Hawaii wasn’t a state in 1941. Was it American soil because it was our military base? Should the Cole and various embassies be included in this definition? The Atlanta Olympics,Oklahoma City, the 1993 WTC bombing were all what I’d consider to be attacks on American soil. Edit: what they all said ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/6 "2008-09-08T23:43:59Z")
Good points, all. Maybe the people who say Pearl Harbor mean only “acts of war”? But surely the attack on the Cole was an act of war? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/7 "2008-09-09T00:05:37Z")
Pearl Harbor is definitely out of the running. There were a couple of Japanese attacks on Washington State during the war. They hardly accomplished anything, which is why nobody remembers them, but they were unquestionably war attacks, unquestionably on American soil, and unquestionably later than the Pearl Harbor attack. Anything after WWII, of course, you have to start quibbling about definitions. ---
**Author:** ![Outpits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4bbf92/32.png) [@Outpits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Outpits)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/8 "2008-09-09T00:21:50Z")
In World War II the Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska were attacked and occupied. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleutian\_Islands\_Campaign](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleutian_Islands_Campaign) This was in 1943, so therefore after Pearl Harbor, and it was more significant than the attacks on the State of Washington ---
**Author:** ![headshok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@headshok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/headshok)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/9 "2008-09-09T00:48:55Z")
Are US embassies considered American soil? If so, then the 1998 [East Africa bombings](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_United_States_embassy_bombings) would be the last attack on American soil before 9/11. ETA: Ah, I see **Cisco** already mentioned embassies in the OP. Still, I don’t know if they are considered American soil or not. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/10 "2008-09-09T00:51:09Z")
> [@Outpits](#): > > In World War II the Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska were attacked and occupied. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleutian\_Islands\_Campaign](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleutian_Islands_Campaign) This was in 1943, so therefore after Pearl Harbor, and it was more significant than the attacks on the State of Washington Alaska, like Hawaii, did not become a state until several years after WWII. So if you’re excluding Pearl Harbour you kinda have to exclude the Aleutian campaign too. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/11 "2008-09-09T01:00:03Z")
What about the 9000 balloon bombs the Japanese launched towards the US during WWII. As many as 1000 hit North America, but I can only find one example of people being killed. Those balloon bombs were unsuccessful at starting the fires they were designed to start. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/12 "2008-09-09T01:01:47Z")
> [@headshok](#): > > Are US embassies considered American soil? They are not. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/13 "2008-09-09T01:05:12Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > Alaska, like Hawaii, did not become a state until several years after WWII. So if you’re excluding Pearl Harbour you kinda have to exclude the Aleutian campaign too. Or to put it another way, an attack on Puerto Rico today could hardly be seen as anything other than an attack on America. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/14 "2008-09-09T01:08:04Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I’m mostly curious how ‘American soil’ is or should be defined. The common answer to this question is Pearl Harbor, but Hawaii wasn’t a state in 1941. Was it American soil because it was our military base? It wasn’t a state, but Hawaii was a U.S. territory–it wasn’t like an attack on a U.S. base located in a foreign country; it was “our soil” in the sense that the territory was a U.S. possession. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/15 "2008-09-09T04:09:26Z")
“Attack on American soil” is so vague that you can make it any day you want by tweaking the definition. What is considered an “attack”? By whom? What is “American soil”? All those are subject to wide interpretation so depending on the definition you can get many different dates. The question is therefore quite meaningless. Does it have to be by a country or is a criminal group enough? Mexican drug cartels who have murdered in the US qualify? If not why would Al Qaeda? You have to start tweaking the definition so that it fits whatever result you want. > [@Cisco](#): > > Good points, all. Maybe the people who say Pearl Harbor mean only “acts of war”? But surely the attack on the Cole was an act of war? I seriously dislike the expression “act of war” because it is also quite meaningless and has been kidnapped and tortured by the jingoists to mean whatever it suits them which generally means anything anyone does which they feel would suggest a military response by America is an “act of war” but America can be doing much worse things to other peoples and countries and those are not “acts of war” but just America’s way of doing business. Someone gave money to the widow of a guy who killed someone who was a national of a country allied with America. That’s an “act of war”! But America can carry out covert military ops in other countries and that is not an “act of war” but just America’s right to do such things as ordained by God himself in the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/16 "2008-09-09T05:00:56Z")
In 1954 Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on the House of Representatives in the Capitol wounding 5 congressmen. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Capitol\_shooting\_incident_(1954)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Capitol_shooting_incident_(1954)) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/17 "2008-09-09T06:55:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Pearl Harbor is definitely out of the running. There were a couple of Japanese attacks on Washington State during the war. They hardly accomplished anything, which is why nobody remembers them, but they were unquestionably war attacks, unquestionably on American soil, and unquestionably later than the Pearl Harbor attack. AFAIK, the only attacks against Washington state during WWII were the balloon bombs others have mentioned. One hit a power line and took out power to the reactor at the Hanford Reservation. Fortunately, the reactor had a backup power supply. You’re probably thinking of several attacks against the mainland by Japanese subs. A refinery in California was shelled, as was Fort Stevens at the mouth of the Columbia on the Oregon side. A sub also launched a float plane that dropped a couple of incendiary bombs in the forest near Brookings, Oregon. The forest was rather damp at the time so the bombs did not cause a forest fire. I believe all these attacks occured in 1942. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/18 "2008-09-09T08:51:14Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > What about the 9000 balloon bombs the Japanese launched towards the US during WWII [Attacks on North America during World War II.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacks_on_North_America_during_World_War_II) ---
**Author:** ![WillSantini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@WillSantini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillSantini)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/19 "2008-09-09T16:40:34Z")
On March 9, 1916, Pancho Villa and his men rode into the fort at Columbus, New Mexico, and killed 18 American soldiers. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699/20 "2008-09-09T17:31:51Z")
> [@headshok](#): > > Are US embassies considered American soil? > [@clairobscur](#): > > They are not. Yes, they are. **Types of jurisdictional territory within the international system** … Diplomatic grounds. The grounds of foreign embassies and some consulates, like vessels at sea, are considered part of the territory of the nation they represent. > **[Jurisdiction (area)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_jurisdiction)** > > A jurisdiction is the legal authority of a court, government, or other entity to make and enforce laws within a defined area. > Each state in a federation—such as Australia, Germany, and the United States—forms a separate jurisdiction. Certain laws, however, may be uniform across the constituent states and enforced by federal courts, resulting in a single jurisdiction for those purposes. > A jurisdiction may also prosecute individuals for crimes committed outside its territory if the perpetrator re... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-9-11-when-was-the-last-time-we-were-attacked-on-american-soil/462699.md?page=2)