Multisided Clone War?

[Battlehymn Republic]

Could there have been a way to create a Star Wars conflict with three or more warring sides? I don't mean something "Somalia-style", with a bunch of warlords and clans and tribes fighting over the carcass of a fallen order, a la post-ROTJ.

I'm talking about a conflict in the AOCT-ROTS period. Since a third side is only possible if:

1. While two juggernauts slug it out, a previously neutral side slowly builds itself up for war. I doubt if any faction strong enough would dare intervene. It'd be like Switzerland in 1943 going, "Hey! The Axis and Allies will destroy each other! While they're not looking, I'll just try and get as much land as possible." Or Argentina going, "Ah, they'll never have time to go to Latin America. I'll just get my fellow Latin Fascists and swallow up the southern continent." Sooner or later, regional powers will get destroyed, unless they've got some sort of legitimacy.

Incidentally, I'm guessing that's why powerful outer rim powers like the Corporate Sector Authority didn't just decide to go swallowing systems while the Galactic Civil War raged.

2. There's an internal affair, leading to a side splitting into two or more, or

3. An extra-galactic side attacks. Yuzhang Vong. Interesting, but that's for another thread.

So, any ideas? Got me. I was thinking of a Separatist Dooku that's not Sith but plain Dark Jedi, but then he would still be under Palpatine's control. I thought of maybe rival Dark Jedi coming to power, but that's in the realm of fanfiction, making up new characters.

My best idea is that Grievous is thought to be dead, but secretly alive and regains control of the droid army after Order 66. However, more than one point of divergence is needed. Let's have the Jedi at a stronger point- more Senators (old Republic-ans, new Rebels) leave the Senate (they declare it off Coruscant, of course), and the systems declare the current Senate corrupt and form a new Old Republic, giving safe haven to any Jedi. They make a truce with Grievous and the droid army, and fight off the Empire.

Of course, Palpatine isn't actually defeated, but once he's weak enough Grievous and the CIS remnants (hey, galactic corporations. I'd bet they have loads more executives floating around far from Mustafar) turn on the Jedi. Three-way war ensues.

[Battlehymn Republic]

So no one thinks a third side can break in?

[Lord Revan]

So no one thinks a third side can break in?

the clone wars are rathter complex in themselves (in the EU), while there no single third side there several cases of locals not being truly on either side (so they act as kind of third side if only for that battle).

[Tychu]

Could there have been a way to create a Star Wars conflict with three or more warring sides? I don't mean something "Somalia-style", with a bunch of warlords and clans and tribes fighting over the carcass of a fallen order, a la post-ROTJ.

I'm talking about a conflict in the AOCT-ROTS period. Since a third side is only possible if:

1. While two juggernauts slug it out, a previously neutral side slowly builds itself up for war. I doubt if any faction strong enough would dare intervene. It'd be like Switzerland in 1943 going, "Hey! The Axis and Allies will destroy each other! While they're not looking, I'll just try and get as much land as possible." Or Argentina going, "Ah, they'll never have time to go to Latin America. I'll just get my fellow Latin Fascists and swallow up the southern continent." Sooner or later, regional powers will get destroyed, unless they've got some sort of legitimacy.

Incidentally, I'm guessing that's why powerful outer rim powers like the Corporate Sector Authority didn't just decide to go swallowing systems while the Galactic Civil War raged.

2. There's an internal affair, leading to a side splitting into two or more, or

3. An extra-galactic side attacks. Yuzhang Vong. Interesting, but that's for another thread.

So, any ideas? Got me. I was thinking of a Separatist Dooku that's not Sith but plain Dark Jedi, but then he would still be under Palpatine's control. I thought of maybe rival Dark Jedi coming to power, but that's in the realm of fanfiction, making up new characters.

My best idea is that Grievous is thought to be dead, but secretly alive and regains control of the droid army after Order 66. However, more than one point of divergence is needed. Let's have the Jedi at a stronger point- more Senators (old Republic-ans, new Rebels) leave the Senate (they declare it off Coruscant, of course), and the systems declare the current Senate corrupt and form a new Old Republic, giving safe haven to any Jedi. They make a truce with Grievous and the droid army, and fight off the Empire.

Of course, Palpatine isn't actually defeated, but once he's weak enough Grievous and the CIS remnants (hey, galactic corporations. I'd bet they have loads more executives floating around far from Mustafar) turn on the Jedi. Three-way war ensues.

um yeah when the "3rd" party comes in Palpatine just simply would be like, ok Trade Fed stop fighting the clones and attack the "new enemy"
Palpatines playing both sides its a mock WAR!!