User blog comment:Thedoucheinthenorth/The Civil War - Why it is great/@comment-1600847-20121105205454

Regardless of which side you choose in the war, the Stormcloak rebellion is ultimately helpfull to the Thalmor. The Dominion tried invading the Empire and got fought to a standstill. Now, they're waiting on the sidelines as what's left of the Empire fights amongst itself. The Thalmor just have to wait until all sides are weakened and swoop in to pick the bones clean. They want people like Ulfric to fracture and divide the Empire into smaller, more manageable pieces. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the ones who hired the Dark Brotherhood to assassinate Mede II (using Motierre as middle-man).