[Dragaera] Sethra Lavode's Words on War

[Jon Lincicum]

Philip Hart wrote:
> On Sun, 10 Feb 2008, Davdi Silverrock wrote:
>
>   
>> "It isn't that complicated. The attacker doesn't want war. The
>> attacker wants to conquer. If the defender would simply allow him to
>> do so there would be no war."
>>     
>
> I always wonder if Sethra actually believes this.  Too bad Vlad doesn't 
> come back with, "The Jhereg never wants to break your leg.  If the mark
> would just allow him to take his money there would be no violence."
> Or, "The Orca never wants to beat you up...  Oh wait."
>
>   

This always struck me as a misleading assessment of the situation.

It tends to imply that culpability for the war lies entirely with the 
defender...when in fact, the aggressor is at least as culpable. Just 
because it's technically true that the defender has the *option* to roll 
over and accept defeat without a fight, it can be stated they are 
ultimately responsible for the state of war... Without the aggressor, 
there is no need for the defender to have to make that choice.

So, the statement is technically true... But still very misleading.

Majikjon