I think my joke about "Skyrim for the Reachmen" was parlayed by Feliciano as a stepping stone to "Nords fight for the wrong reasons."
While this is probably by and large true, I think it would be accurate to say BOTH sides are fighting for the wrong reasons (usually war is indeed being waged for the wrong reasons). After all, a smarter move by the Empire and Tullius would have been to negotiate with Ulfric on the way to Helgen to arrange for his escape and wage a losing fake war, allowing the Empire to withdraw from Skyrim without arousing suspicion from the Dominion. As a condition of this essential surrender would be the Nords' alliance when the time to face the Dominion.
After all, with Skyrim surrounded by non-Dominion territories, it would be difficult for the Dominion to launch an attack (as I'm sure has been covered to death), and it would allow Skyrim a measure of security while it built its strength. I am sure the Nords would want to engage in a war with the Dominion, and it would certainly work best in an alliance. This way, Skyrim has time to rebuild its strength, doesn't hold as much enmity for the Empire, the Empire doesn't overextend its own resources, and they still work together later.
You'd think the Empire would think of something sneaky like this, too. I'm disappointed, Mede/Tullius. Uriel Septim VII would've known what's up.