User blog comment:Spritydove/Deeper Thought into the Civil War/@comment-24.127.149.128-20120714023416/@comment-1840877-20120726182956

I think the best way to think of Whiterun's "neutrality" is to compare it with America's stance during the first years of WWII. When the war started, America was officially neutral, but they still helped the British by sending them supplies like food and weapons. This is similar to how Whiterun still supplies the Legion, even though they're supposedly neutral. America only joined the actual fighting when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour, similar to how Whiterun only really enters the fray when it's attacked by the Stormcloaks.