having a successful war of naked conquest is a very dangerous precedent to have
the US has been doing exactly this and setting up puppet states since the end of WWII, has never stopped for a second, and will never stop until they're forced to. there has never been any other precedent. prior to WWII, colonialism ruled the world.
US wars since WWII:
Korea
Vietnam
Laos
Indonesia
Lebanon
Cuba/the Bay of Pigs
Dominican Republic
Korea again
Cambodia (on the side of the fucking Khmer Rouge)
Lebanon again
Grenada
Libya
Iran
Panama
Iraq
Somalia
Bosnia/Serbia
Haiti
Kosovo
Afghanistan
Yemen
Iraq again
expansion of the war in Afghanistan to north-west Pakistan
Somalia again
Libya again, this time destroying the country so badly that slave markets opened on the streets
Uganda
Niger
Iraq a third time
Syria
Libya a third time because no shit the Islamic State took up residence, who could have seen this coming
the idea that there has EVER been a way to prevent wars without nuclear proliferation does not respect the historical record. states seeking to arm themselves with nukes is deeply rational. Cuba was under constant threat of invasion until the Soviet Union deployed nukes there -- the US refused to negotiate with the Cuban government. then, once there were nukes, what do you know! suddenly the US will negotiate and will agree not to invade Cuba.
the US has been doing exactly this and setting up puppet states since the end of WWII, has never stopped for a second, and will never stop until they're forced to. there has never been any other precedent. prior to WWII, colonialism ruled the world.
US wars since WWII:
the idea that there has EVER been a way to prevent wars without nuclear proliferation does not respect the historical record. states seeking to arm themselves with nukes is deeply rational. Cuba was under constant threat of invasion until the Soviet Union deployed nukes there -- the US refused to negotiate with the Cuban government. then, once there were nukes, what do you know! suddenly the US will negotiate and will agree not to invade Cuba.