The Romans were civilized. The Gauls were not. More or less.
The highly civilized J. Caesar launched an unprovoked war on the Gauls. Lasted almost 10 years. Of the 6M Gauls alive at the start of the wars, it is estimated 2M were killed and 2M were sold as slaves for Caesar’s personal financial benefit.
Historians generally agree the motivation for the war was Caesar’s need to pay off his massive debts and also to build a name as a warlord for political purposes. Both goals were successfully met.
This is an example of a war between civilized men and savages where the civilized man was in the wrong. There are many others down thru history.
My point is that I don’t believe it is always right to support the “civilized man” over the “savage.”
YMMV