16 June, 2020

Quora Answer: Do Governments Orchestrate Attacks to Give Them Cause to Wage War with Another Country?


Yes.  An example would be the staged Gulf of Tonkin incident, which gave the US casus belli to attack North Vietnam directly, escalating the Vietnam War.  As long as there have been nations that would benefit from invading others, there has been a practice of creating casus belli to justify conflict.

The reasons for the conflict may vary, but the reasons for creating an excuse for conflict are relatively simple.  Wars are expensive, and the citizenry, even the ordinary soldiers, need a reason to fight so that they will believe in it.  Soldiers who are not motivated cannot win a war.  An extended conflict also creates fatigue within the populace, and that may lead to the overthrow of the belligerent government.  World War I is an example, where Russian soldiers overthrew the Tsar and murdered his entire family.




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