David,
I think a lot of it depends what direction the "facts" come from. In much of the world it is considered that the US forced Japan into war by starving it of oil. Once again oil raises its ugly head. If only those pesky dinosaurs hadn't died and got crushed into fossil fuel, perhaps the world would be a happier place!
"... They ne'er cared for us
yet: suffer us to famish, and their store-houses
crammed with grain; make edicts for usury, to
support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome act
established against the rich, and provide more
piercing statutes daily, to chain up and restrain
the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will; and
there's all the love they bear us."
-- Shakespeare: Coriolanus, Act 1, scene 1
