[Mithadan]

I dredged this up out of the archives from years ago. My last post and the questions it presented went unanswered, so I am re-awakening this thread for another try.

In addition to what I suggested above, I have a bit more to add. Again, Gandalf stated that if Sauron recovered the Ring, there would be no foreseeable end to his reign. This implies that the Valar would not intervene and match Sauron with force to overthrow him.

I and others have argued before that the Valar's failure to intervene during the Second Age and later was a function of their concern about the harm such a war would wreak upon Middle-Earth and its inhabitants. This is why they "would not" act directly.

Is it possible that the reality was that they "could not" act? Could they have been prohibited from acting against Sauron, by Eru or perhaps by the Music? When they sent the Istari to Middle Earth the Wizards were sent as Men in form and were either prohibited or unable to match Sauron's force with force. The implication is that Sauron's defeat had to be accomplished by Men with a little aid from Elves, Dwarves and Gandalf, or not at all. Could "fate" have prohibited the Valar from acting?