> with very little help from outside parties. You might have missed the part of history where Bill Clinton pretty much ended the Kargil War and stopped Pakista

> with very little help from outside parties. You might have missed the part of history where Bill Clinton pretty much ended the Kargil War and stopped Pakistan from nuking India [1][2]. [1] https://www.mea.gov.in/articles-in-indian-media.htm?dtl/15419/July+4+1999+Clinton+Nawaz+Vajpayee+and+a+Nwar https://www.mea.gov.in/articles-in-indian-media.htm?dtl/1541... [2] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-india-nuclear-bomb-kargil-war-former-cia-officer-sandy-berger-bruce-riedel-a6758501.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-india... This isn't to say that the world goes often beyond mere words; every democratic nation's leadership is obligated to act in the best interest of their citizens, and what's in their best interest is not always clear at the outset. There's a reason diplomacy and statecraft are full-time jobs, and defense pacts like NATO exist. These pacts tie populations together and organize some of the decision-making process. Even then those pacts have steps that need to be triggered before action is taken, and NATO Article 5 [3] has been invoked only once in its history. The really interesting thing is that according to NATO Article 6, an attack on Hawaii or some Spanish cities may not trigger a NATO response [4] [3] https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_110496.htm https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_110496.htm [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_Treaty#Article_6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_Treaty#Article_... If you're looking for an example closer to home, consider the Pandavas' exile; they went to war only after all other options had been exhausted [5]. [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurukshetra_War#Background https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurukshetra_War#Background Much as we as individuals want nations to act emotionally as we would, democratic nations simply do not make decisions that way. There are tens, perhaps even hundreds, of people involved at all levels of government in any major decisions around foreign policy. It is possible to subvert that machinery like with the 2nd Bush administration, and trash it altogether like with the Trump administration, but for the most part it works fairly rationally, if not always in the long-term interest.