Your post brought to mind something I was just researching the other day about the Spanish-American War and the Philippines. Most folks probably know this but in case not, here it is.
Excerpt: http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/spanishamerican/section5.rhtml
Based partially on his understanding of the leading military theorists of the time, and partially on his desire to see a wider conflict against Spain, [Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore] Roosevelt wanted more than just a war in Cuba. For that reason, one weekend while his boss John D. Long was away, Roosevelt used his authority as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to cable Commodore George Dewey, the officer in control of the US Asiatic Squadron then docked at Hong Kong harbor, with orders that if the US and Spain went to go to war, Dewey was to immediately attack the Spanish fleet at Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Roosevelt gave these orders without Long's knowledge (and probably against Long's will) on February 25, 1898. Dewey figured something was fishy about these strange orders, and so double-checked the orders with McKinley. Strangely, McKinley, who had previously been agonizing over whether to go with war with Spain over Cuba, approved the surprise attack against the Spanish in the Philippines."
Not that I disagree with your post; I don't, but I thought this an interesting event in our history of war.