On Starting Wars

I have observed elsewhere that starting a war is a mug's game. In general, not a good way to advance national security interests.

September 18, 1931, Japanese military personnel staged the Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, which served as the pretext for a Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Six months later, Japan established the puppet state of Manchukuo. The international uproar caused Japan to withdraw from the League of Nations in March, 1933.

In the long run, the invasion didn't work out so well.

It led to Pearl Harbor. And Hiroshima. And Nagasaki.