My point here remains valid, aggressor nations often use the excuse of "preemptive attack" to justify starting a war -- most recently, we've seen Russians claiming Ukraine was getting ready to attack, and that's why Russia was forced to invade.
And I'll repeat: history normally doesn't look kindly on such claims.
Now it seems you dislike comparison of Fort Sumter & Pearl Harbor, but it's you, FRiend, who used the "preemptive attack" defense.
Pearl Harbor was a Japanese "preemptive attack" while the U.S. waited patiently until after the actual attack before waging war against Japan.
I could list any number of other examples of "preemptive attacks", and show you how they didn't work out so well, if needed?