Why does the Fire Nation fight to control the world?

It is not a disputed question, really. It is an undeniable truth. The Fire Nation fights to control the world because we are strong. They, the other Nations, are weak, and need to be dominated. In order for the world to run smoothly, there must be a single leader, and I am best suited for the task. It cannot be denied.

The coming of the comet will do nothing but aid in our quest. The Earth Nation will try to stop it. The Water Nation will try to run from it. The Air Nation…well, the Air Nation has not been a problem for one hundred years. The Fire Nation has not threatened rebellion once. In fact, the only things that could pose a threat are…

The Avatar and my own son.

The Avatar is fated to stop the Fire Nation from succeeding. His legend has been passed down for generations. But that does not mean the legend is right; the Fire Nation has power unimaginable, and the Avatar is a mere boy.

The last surviving shred of the art of Air Bending rests in the hands of one twelve year old boy and his two friends.

Those friends will be his downfall, I predict. As I proved when I banished my own son, friends and sentimentalities are weaknesses. They are used by enemies as temptations to walk straight into traps, and as bartering pieces. Not allies. Not for me, at least.

Banishing my son was a tactical move, I admit, but he did not need to understand. He is merely a child. Trying to explain it to him would be like trying to explain the Fire Nation's reasons for being to a hulking rhinoceros.

But why did he need to be expelled from the Fire Nation? For two reasons, you could say. One is obvious: the more sights we have out for the Avatar, the better it will be for our success rate. We cannot afford to have the boy running around learning Bending when our own soldiers have barely managed to learn to Firebend. The weaklings will severely slow us down.

We try our very hardest, taking any advantages which come our way and exploiting them to their utmost. The comet is only one example, but it might be the best. We will harness the thing's power and use it to dominate the network of allies trying to rally against us.

The second is, perhaps, harder to see: he will only get in our way.

No matter how "mature" he may be, or pretend to be, Zuko is still a boy, and we cannot have him running around underfoot while we try to conquer the world. It would do more harm than good, and I cannot afford to be a father amidst the turmoil of war.

Let the boy learn Firebending on his own time. It will serve him as he serves me.

Fire is a destructive force, as it is.

Earth is a shield. Water is a deterrent. Air is a trick.

Fire is a vessel of raw power.

Because we are the strongest, and we are the most resourceful, and we are the greatest, we will rule over the other, weaker nations, with the Avatar bowing at our feet.

Things will work out all right for the Fire Nation. I will be sure of that.

No matter what may stand in our way.