User blog comment:ShawnCognitionCP/The Empire vs Stormcloaks, the most likely answer/@comment-9062114-20140611211441/@comment-27007772-20140611222850

Torygg still supported the Empire, and at the time, so did most of Skyim. If Ulfric, his good friend would have asked, he may have succeeded peacfully. Instead, civil war.

The Thalmor army was able to take down the Empire, in their homeland, where most of them are, easily. The Empire was not just defeated, but beaten into submission. They are the largest army we know of in all of nirn.

He isn't seeing into the future, we know this from the gaem itself. The Thalmor are benifiting from the two sides both fighting and weakening each other, and no negative events from this war is happening to the Thalmor.

Zip, that is terrible wrong. The second his father died and he was given power, he loved it. This is the most wrong I have ever heard on the topic of Ulfric's power. He wants the throne to have the throne. Having it would grant him no more power than he already has, because the Empire would launch an even bigger assault, since it would be an advanced war act (again). If he thinks he is stronge enough, he is wrong. The Empire is bigger than the Stormcloaks, and the Thalmor is bigger, stronger, and more elite than the Empire.

Morrowind has nearly no offensive forces that could challenge anyone right now, adn the tensions with black marsh will keep them occcupied. Both the Empire and Stormcloaks say they will wage war agains the Thalmor at the end of the quest line, as this is most likely going to be the story of the game.

When it comes to faction vs faction to fight the Thalmor, the right choice is currently fighting against rebels. Ulfric is counter-productive to anything he wants to achieve.