I am quite familiar with such arguments. The "Lincoln made me do it" defense can be traced all the way back to Jefferson Davis himself.

Conspiracy theorists have spent countless hours re-imagining the "sinister" beginnings of other American wars. They say Polk provoked the Mexicans, McKinley blew up the Maine, FDR engineered Pearl Harbor, and most recently, they say Bush knocked down the World Trade Center.

I don't believe any American president desires war, nor for that matter do I think they wish for full-scale economic collapse or catastrophic natural disasters.

But sometimes life gives us things we do not want. When that happens, it seems to me, that we must simply do our duty to the best of our ability. The rest, as they say, is in God's hands.

Just my two cents...

Best,
Sam.