I agree very much with what Arjen said.
On top of what Arjen said about "if that wouldn't have spurred them into war, something else would have." I think that even top ranked authorities and country leaders have hit a limit on critical thinking during wartimes which prevents them from really doing what is good for PEOPLE... most people haven't wanted "expansion" and "control" of geographical regions - leaders, kings, presidents, etc., are the ones who decide that certain land masses are supposed to become "property" of particular nations, etc.