: I still find the cause of the civil war silly and convoluted, even after
: reading this. Yes Truth wanted absolute power, but had he just left things
: as they were the rings would be activated and he would have
: "ascended" as planned in a few days. What does he care who is
: the military arm of the Covenant. I really don't understand why this
: storyline was created for H2 or why it's held in high regard.

I think it a lot to do with him no longer trusting the Elites to see things through to the end, as well as him just wanting absolute power. It was mentioned in the book that a major reason for Truth excluding the Elites was the evidence of dissidence and questionable allegiances within their ranks.