# Hypothetical scenario: Al-Queda enacts terrorism against several U.S. synagogues. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 3, 2011, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559 "2011-05-03T11:32:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/1 "2011-05-03T11:32:37Z")
Let’s say they are operating out of Pakistan or Saudi Arabia and 1,000 people are killed, with another 300 wounded. Public response? Do we go to war again? 1998 [Fatwa](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1998.html). :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/2 "2011-05-03T12:11:43Z")
Go to war _again_? When did we end the last war in response to the deaths of American civilians? Why would you envision a difference in response if these American citizens are in Temple, at Church, at work, or at a ballgame when an attack strikes? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/3 "2011-05-03T14:41:48Z")
Are you asking whether the American response would be different if the victims were primarily Jewish? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/4 "2011-05-03T14:59:36Z")
Who, exactly, would we go to war against? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/5 "2011-05-03T15:13:44Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Are you asking whether the American response would be different if the victims were primarily Jewish? That’s what I’m getting from the question, too, and it’s an odd one. Going after terrorists based in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia would be complicated because there are a lot of regional stability concerns in both places, the U.S. isn’t popular in either country, Pakistan has nuclear weapons, we know how touchy Muslim fanatics are about Western soldiers in Saudi Arabia, and so on. But yes, you would see a major response. Nobody would say “they only targeted Jews this time, it’s not worth making a big deal out of it.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/6 "2011-05-03T15:38:07Z")
Do most Christian churches employ armed guards? Our temple does. I’m thinking there are probably much softer targets in the U.S. than synagogues. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/7 "2011-05-03T15:50:40Z")
Wouldn’t a lot of it also depend on Saudi Arabia or Pakistan’s reaction? We didn’t go into Afghanistan until the Afghan government refused to turn over Bin Laden. If S. Arabia or Pakistan said, “We’ll work with you on getting the people responsible for this”, our reaction would be pretty different than if they said, “Serves you right, losers!” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/8 "2011-05-03T16:02:41Z")
Al Qaeda is a sworn enemy of the governments in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. They see them both as insufficiently Islamic and too closely allied with the West. If the U.S. wanted to launch major attacks on Al Qaeda in either country, the governments of those countries might not want to give the U.S. every single thing it asked for, but it’s not like they would stick their necks out for Al Qaeda. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/9 "2011-05-03T16:40:00Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Do most Christian churches employ armed guards? Our temple does. > > I’m thinking there are probably much softer targets in the U.S. than synagogues. Sure, but those armed guards are there to deal with crazies like the Holocaust Museum shooter, not suicide bombers. Belfast was _crawling_ with British military patrols for thirty years, but the IRA was still able to blow up more or less everything it wanted. Besides, there were much softer targets available in 2001 than aircraft… ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/10 "2011-05-03T20:41:25Z")
Yeah, synagogues and Jewish organizations tend to have guards…but so did the WTC and airports. I actually didn’t think of this until today when I read the Fatwa again. It declared war on well, us, “and Jews”. So I was wondering what the political implications would be if this situation happened. I’d hear a lot of “it wasn’t an attack on America, but \_\_\_\_” from some, then anti-Israel sentiment (which definitely rose after 9/11) and whatever. Okay, you can replace “synagogue” with “black churches in the south” or “abortion clinics” or whatever. But I was just wondering if AQ targeted some specific ‘set’ or ‘group’ in America if we would react the same way. First, there are camps in Pakistan that we aren’t (loudly) complaining about. The Pakistani government denies they exist, but maybe I’m just a skeptic. Second, I’m thinking the Pakistani government knew Osama bin Laden was there. Three, Saudi Arabia is no stranger to AQ. AQ doesn’t really have a main office, you know. I just wondered, since we went into Afghanistan…how we’d retaliate for this one? What if they were all suicide (er, homicide?) bombers? What if they weren’t cozy with a specific government, like the Taliban? Then what? Make CIA more like Mossad? What do you think the American people would expect? ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/11 "2011-05-03T20:48:17Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Al Qaeda is a sworn enemy of the governments in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. They see them both as insufficiently Islamic and too closely allied with the West. If the U.S. wanted to launch major attacks on Al Qaeda in either country, the governments of those countries might not want to give the U.S. every single thing it asked for, but it’s not like they would stick their necks out for Al Qaeda. There’s a Saudi branch of al-Qaeda, and they are pretty anti-Saudi royals. (Anti-royal Suadis? Saudis who are anti current government? :smack:) I don’t think they’d stick their necks out for AQ…but the Saudi government is pretty vocal about their hatred of Jewish people. Or what if it operated out of Iran? :dubious: No one wants another war, but how would we not respond? Afghanistan? Justifiable. Iraq? wtfness. Libya? Unnecessary. The question wasn’t a matter of “Would Americans care?” but “What happens when the enemy of AQ is a little more targeted?” Personally, I don’t want to find out. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/12 "2011-05-03T21:00:04Z")
Has AL Quaeda ever targeted Jewish targets? I dont recall so. Maybe Daniel Pearl would count, but there doesnt seem to have been a very active policy for targeting Jews from AQ. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/13 "2011-05-03T21:18:11Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Has AL Quaeda ever targeted Jewish targets? I dont recall so. > > Maybe Daniel Pearl would count, but there doesnt seem to have been a very active policy for targeting Jews from AQ. Not that I know of, but they’ve threatened to and supposedly have tried. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/14 "2011-05-03T21:23:43Z")
Add: ADL has a few [citations](http://www.adl.org/terrorism/listofattacks.asp). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/15 "2011-05-03T21:58:07Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > I don’t think they’d stick their necks out for AQ…but the Saudi government is pretty vocal about their hatred of Jewish people. I think that’s the kind of situation where the Saudi government might turn over whatever information it has and allow the U.S. to get the people who were responsible, but publicly deny it had anything to do with what happened. > [@](#): > > Or what if it operated out of Iran? :dubious: Now that’s an interesting idea- and it’s one reason Iran doesn’t want to see this; the last thing they would want is to give the U.S. an excuse to push the button. But if you’re talking about a terrorist group that opposes the Iranian government, they might cooperate on the down low and give as little as they possibly could. If the Iranian government approved, which is a little hard to believe, you’d probably see a major war- but one with a lot of international support. > [@](#): > > The question wasn’t a matter of “Would Americans care?” but “What happens when the enemy of AQ is a little more targeted?” > > Personally, I don’t want to find out. 😕 Neither do I. But it’s not like the U.S. would say ‘well, it’s only Jews.’ > [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Has AL Quaeda ever targeted Jewish targets? I dont recall so. > > Maybe Daniel Pearl would count, but there doesnt seem to have been a very active policy for targeting Jews from AQ. I can’t think of one, but the Pearl murder does go a long way. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-scenario-al-queda-enacts-terrorism-against-several-u-s-synagogues/580559/16 "2011-05-04T05:16:49Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > Add: ADL has a few [citations](http://www.adl.org/terrorism/listofattacks.asp). > [@Marley23](#): > > I think that’s the kind of situation where the Saudi government might turn over whatever information it has and allow the U.S. to get the people who were responsible, but publicly deny it had anything to do with what happened. Probable for now. > [@](#): > > Now that’s an interesting idea- and it’s one reason Iran doesn’t want to see this; the last thing they would want is to give the U.S. an excuse to push the button. But if you’re talking about a terrorist group that opposes the Iranian government, they might cooperate on the down low and give as little as they possibly could. If the Iranian government approved, which is a little hard to believe, you’d probably see a major war- but one with a lot of international support. What if it’s a terrorist group that is supported by the Iranian government? That’s not exactly unheard of! > [@](#): > > Neither do I. But it’s not like the U.S. would say ‘well, it’s only Jews.’ agreed. > [@](#): > > I can’t think of one, but the Pearl murder does go a long way. again: [Al Qaeda’s Jihad Against Israel and Jews](http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/al-Qaeda_jews_israel.htm?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_2) I’m wondering if there will be any sort of ‘retaliation’ for this retaliation. Not necessarily on US soil (something like 9/11 takes years to plan) but…it does seem we may be in the cycle of this new world warfare. It’s not like we’ve ever been immune to war.