[quote=Yog Sothoth]
Still remember star wars? The sith took power because they sold the deception of an enemy to the galactic republic, so just because it's a UN type of republic doesn't mean that evil schemes can't be hatched from within it
[/quote]

Maybe it's more of a mixture, both are guilty of suspicious behavior. If someone higher up is pulling the strings and the ninjas are really just pawns.