History Main / PretextForWar

* WorldWarI. The assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was just an excuse for the annexation of Serbia, which was just the Russian Empire's excuse for war on Austria-Hungary, which was the German Empire's excuse for war on Russia, which was France's excuse for war on Germany, which was Germany's excuse for the invasion of Belgium, which was Great Britain's excuse for war on Germany. The real causes were Austria-Hungary's desire to extablish its dominance in the Balkans in the face of growing Pan-Slavism there, promoted by Russia, which threatened its southeastern borders and its prestige; the commercial and colonial rivalry between the German and British empires; and the desire of the French Republic for ''Revanche, i.e.'', revenge for its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the re-annexation of the province of Elsaß-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine). In other words, the true causes were jingoism, militarism, alliances, imperialism, commercialism, and nationalism.

* Luckily, this one doesn't apply to the recent businesses in Iraq and Afghanistan...

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq The 2003 Invasion of Iraq]]. In September 2002, the Bush Administration began to advocate overthrowing the regime of Saddam Hussein as part of the Administration's "War on Terror". The justifications were that Iraq was sponsoring terrorism and stockpiling [[WeaponOfMassDestruction WMDs]], despite the lack of any reliable evidence for those claims. Despite opposition from both the international community and many NATO members, the invasion began in March 2003 and ended [[CurbstompBattle just a month later]]. Needless to say, nationwide investigations afterward revealed no evidence to support any of the pre-war justifications, with defence of the action then placed on pointing out how nasty Saddam Hussein was.

* ''{{Star Wars}} has many thanks to the machinations of [[EvilChancellor Chancellor]] [[MagnificentBastard Palpatine]]. In ThePhantomMenace, he directs the [[MegaCorp Trade Federation]] to invade [[PerfectPacifistPeople Naboo]] over a trivial dispute, and in AttackOfTheClones he deploys the clone army secretly created by his apprentice [[ChristopherLee Count Dooku]] to Geonosis, sparking the Clone Wars.

* ''{{Star Wars}} has many thanks to the machinations of [[EvilChancellor Chancellor]] [[MagnificentBastard Palpatine]]. In [[ThePhantomMenace]], he directs the [[MegaCorp Trade Federation]] to invade [[PerfectPacifistPeople Naboo]] over a trivial dispute, and in [[AttackOfTheClones]] he deploys the clone army secretly created by his apprentice [[ChristopherLee Count Dooku]] to Geonosis, sparking the Clone Wars.

* ''{{Star Wars}} has many thanks to the machinations of [[EvilChancellor Chancellor]] [[SmugSnake Palpatine]]. In [[The Phantom Menace]], he directs the [[MegaCorp Trade Federation]] to invade [[PerfectPacifistPeople Naboo]] over a trivial dispute, and in [[Attack of the Clones]] he deploys the clone army secretly created by his apprentice [[ChristopherLee Dooku]] to Geonosis, sparking the Clone Wars.

** Isn't that just another way of saying the true cause was {{Pride}} ?

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq The 2003 Invasion of Iraq]]. In September 2002, the Bush Administration began to advocate overthrowing the regime of Saddam Hussein as part of the Administration's "War on Terror". The justifications were that Iraq was sponsoring terrorism and stockpiling [[WeaponOfMassDestruction WMDs]], despite the lack of any reliable evidence for those claims. Despite opposition from both the international community and many NATO members, the invasion began in March 2003 and ended [[CurbstompBattle just a month later]]. Needless to say, nationwide investigations afterward revealed no evidence to support any of the pre-war justifications.

* {{CrestOfTheStars}}has a complex one. First is the destruction of the ''Gosroth'' with United Mankind insisting on setting up a joint investigation committee, with the suggestion that tensions are running high after the Abh annex the Hyde System. Ultimately subverted in that it is revealed that UM has been planning the whole thing for decades and on the Abh side Empress Ramaj sees right through it and refuses to play their games. She basically says "If you want a war then I will give you a war."

* While most seem to disagree on whether the reason to invade Iraq was for bring freedom to the Iraqis, oil, fighting terrorism, or scaring the Saudis and Iranians, most commentators agree that the WMD issue was basicly a pretext.