From a reader:

Yes, World War I was an “idiotic war” as you put it, but I am not clear as to how we could have avoided entering it. How were we to ignore the sinking of our merchant vessels by German submarines? And what about Germany’s attempt to co-opt Mexico into the war in exchange for a promise to regain the territories of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico? These were gross affronts to our sovereignty, and despite Wilson’s sanctimonious arrogance and pollyannish belief in the omnipotence of enlightened diplomacy, and despite a large German-American populace arguing strenuously for continued neutrality, we had to defend ourselves.
As to Versailles, it’s an interesting debate and one to which I am not qualified to contribute much – however, it must be remembered that Germany was the first power to breach a national frontier in 1914, and they chose a neutral country to attack. The only immediate threat to Germany at that moment was the general mobilization of Russian troops in response to the diplomatic crisis created in the wake of the Archduke’s assassination, however Von Moltke struck to the West in the opening gambit of Germany’s long-held two-front strategy which required an entry into heavily-fortified France by way of Luxembourg and the lowlands of Belgium. It is only speculation to suggest that the inherently militaristic tendencies of a unified German state (even without the Kaiser) would have been checked by a “balance of power” scheme. This may have proved to be even more whimsical than the League of Nations, and there is no guarantee (and, in my opinion not much actual likelihood) that Germany would not have simply begun its 1930´s arms buildup from a stronger base if it hadn’t been stripped bare at Versailles. It may have been a leader other than Hitler in that case, but I don’t accept that the political and economic humiliation of the post-Versailles years was the only factor leading to a resurgence of militarist populism in Germany. If anything, the lesson I draw is that they should have been humiliated more – although I admit that it is difficult to think of concrete ways this might have been accomplished (other than the dividing of the country, ironically enough).