What is Casus belli?
'''Casus belli''' is a [[Latin]] phrase for an event or a situation that directly provokes a [[war]]. The [[plural]] of the phrase is the same as its [[singular]]. In an [[aggression]] in the sense of [[international law]], a country is allowed to start a war in [[self-defence]]. It is common to provoke an aggressor to be able to start a war legally. Suspected examples are the ''Arrow'' incident, which started the [[Second Opium War]], and the ''Maine'' incident, which led the [[United States]] to take [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[Philippines]]<nowiki/>and to occupy Cuba from the [[Spanish Empire]]. The [[Iraq War]] was started by the US and its allies on the pretext that [[Saddam Hussein]] had [[Weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]]. Years after the war, it turned out that there were none in [[Iraq]]. Another example is the [[assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]] starting [[World War I]]. == Related pages == *[[Declaration of war]] [[Category:Latin phrases]] [[Category:War]]