Credibility, deniability and plausability are handy tools to have that SOG/covert platforms offer, Penta. The formal actions of nations, i.e. official acts of war, lock any number of players into specific courses of action and reaction that aren't alwasy readily stopped once put in motion. When all else fails, blame it on in-house rebels and malcontents when mischief manifests along the border of an atagonist.