Failure Factor #4: The danger of a country trying to protect its own global reputation when that reputation is damaged through the efforts of an allied country… whether the damage inflicted was warranted or not, and whether the allied country intended to cause the damage or not.

When this happens within the context of a country also experiencing one of the other Failure Factors the cumulative impact is, as in Failure Factor #3, to exert pressure on a country to stand behind its prior words and actions. The effect can be so great as to make the case that nothing short of war will suffice as a means of making the point to the world that “we are better than how we are being portrayed”.