pretext

He would understand that creating a pretext for war leads to disaster.

That was their goal from the start, they just needed time to dredge up a pretext.

The talk of “crime” is even more threadbare than the usual right-wing pretexts.

Beckmann said the situation is a “particularly perilous historical moment because we have a president willing to flout constitutional limits while Congress and the court have been willing to accept pretext as principle.”

"China opposes any attempt by anyone to use the pretext of cultural and artistic exchanges to engage in political manipulation and interfere in China's internal affairs."