Editing Starship Troopers (section)

===The Bug War===
The Terran Federation goes to war with the Arachnids after the Bugs destroy the city of Buenos Aires. The book leaves doubt about who actually provoked the war, but it seems a straightforward ''Thucydides's Trap'' affair, where one power grows and another decides the galaxy isn't big enough for the both of them. For his part, Rico doesn't seem to have much actual antipathy towards the Bugs, viewing the conflict as an unavoidable fact of life, when he bothers to think much about it (he doesn't even have that big of an initial reaction to hearing about the destruction of Buenos Aires). As he puts it, both species are tough and smart and competing for the same real estate in a finite galaxy; ''of course'' they're going to go to war over it if they can't negotiate. 

The Federation immediately invades the Arachnid home world of Klendathu in retaliation, but is summarily BTFO. For some time afterwards, humans are on the losing side as they attempt to weaken the Bugs with harassment. Over the next few years, several more cities and other installations in the Sol system are destroyed, while the Federation destroys peripheral Bug colonies, pacifies/converts Bug allies, captures Bug leaders, and learns more about Bug tactics, society, and biology. Starting out, the Bugs' biology gives them an inherent advantage, as they are able to rapidly replace losses. If 1000 Bugs die to kill a single trooper, it's a net win for the Bugs, and it takes a while for the Federation to adapt its weapons and tactics. The book ends just as the Federation is massing forces for a second invasion of Klendathu, in which the Federation appears to have a massive advantage, and presumably will win.