Casus Belli

One interesting and ironic variant is when hardline elements from both sides will collaborate to stage a high profile assassination or other incident to kickstart a war, proving just how well they work together to achieve their goals despite hating each other’s guts. This one is especially common when one or both nations have a Reasonable Authority Figure as a head of state, since it can force their hand to war, or if they’re the assassination target, get them out of the picture and make them an unwitting martyr.

False Flag Operation is one of the classical moves too, and almost a Twentieth Century theme song.

Since wars of aggression have technically been banned, you’ll find that “False Flags” are a lot more common today than they were previously, since both sides are at pains to show that the other side started it.

As a result, the history of many a 20th-century war reads like a really, really  Idiotic “Fawlty Towers” Plot.

“Civilized” countries have more or less always deemed it improper to declare war on your neighbors “because we want your stuff” or “because we feel like it;  even an aggressive war would have to have some kind of triggering incursion, insult, or violation behind it.

How about “We must go to war to remove a tyrant who is using weapons against his own people”? Or, perhaps; “We must punish the terrorists who are threatening us with nuclear destruction”, (even though the country in question has the capability of the little nation in the movie “The Mouse that Roared)?

The pretexts for most wars, when examined, are usually, at best, flimsy. If that is so why would otherwise “sane” leaders go to armed conflict, (it is no longer politically correct to call it war.)?

The above statement is asking the wrong question. A more appropriate question would be; “Who would somehow profit from this war? Arms manufacturers are often mentioned but considering the interconnectedness of government contracts and the beneficiaries of them, it comes down to more than manufacturers of those “evil” black rifles.

The corporations, (and the elite owners), that incite these wars are not interested in what happens to people, or the economy of particular countries, (since most are international in scope and ownership). It is not exclusively about increasing wealth, although wealth increase is a salubrious by-product of war.

In the end, it is about power. Who has it? Who wields it? Who are the controllers and who are the controlled?

Scripture says:

While this may be an accurate statement, it is probably more useful to look at who is beating the war drums and ask the question, (in Latin): Ubi est mia? (Where’s mine?).