I know what you're thinking. In both trilogies of Star wars, the Sith are clearly evil. They made the Death Star for crying out loud. Anakin killed all those little Jedi children. It's called the Dark Side for a reason. How could they possibly be anything but evil?

Those are all valid points. But that's because the story is told from the point of view of the Jedi. History is told by the winners, and the Jedi definitely won (at least in the original trilogy). So they got to tell their story. But what about the story from the point of view of the Sith? How would they tell their story?

The Movies

For starters, the'd mention how the leader of the galaxy, Emperor Palpatine (at the time he was the chancellor), was a Sith leader. If he was able to watch over the galaxy, then that proves the Sith are capable of being in charge.

I get it, that is faulty logic. But they could twist it around. They could say that Darth Maul wasn't supposed to attack. He was just supposed to watch from afar and gather intel. But, instead, went rogue and attacked. In the same hand, they could blame Obi-Wan for Darth Maul's death. Despite the Jedi saying Maul had attacked them, the Sith could say it was not the Jedi's call. He belonged to the Sith and they deserved the ability to punish him for that betrayal.

As for Chancellor Palpatine, he earned his place. He was voted into that position, it may seem staged. But he was still voted in.

Palpatine could have wanted Anakin under his wing knowing that he could be the Chosen One - the one that is supposed to bring balance to the force. He could be trying to help Annakin if the Jedi failed in their attempts. It was the Jedi who had seen the Sith as a threat and caused all the death and destruction that followed.

Now, for clarification, I'm not saying that I agree with any of this. I'm just saying that this is what the Sith might say about it.

Let's continue.

The creation of the clone army and the Death Star were done as precautions for possible dangers. I know that that may seem a little unnecessary. But an army isn't always a bad thing. Sure, doing it in secret is. But it's not the first time it's happened and been disregarded by the general public (for the most part) because it stopped a war (the Manhattan Project, for example).

Lastly, Episode III ends with the destruction of all Jedi because Palpatine believes they are a threat that the universe can live without. Maybe not the idea of the light side is entirely awful, no, but the current order of the Jedi is too much for the Universe to live through.

Palpatine takes Anakin as his apprentice because he still believes that Anakin is the Chosen One. Capable of bringing peace and order to the force. And to do so, Anakin would need to fully trust Palpatine and feel no connection to anyone else, including his children and late wife. So that is why Palpatine informs him that it was he who killed Anakin. To protect the future of the galaxy.

So, in the prequels, though the movies were rather awful, the goal was not to destroy the Jedi, but to build up precautions.

Now as for the original trilogy, The Galactic Empire has to deal with rebels. Now, we have a soft spot for rebels for a number of reasons (The American Revolution, The French Revolution, the fall of Soviet Russia, etc.) So, naturally, we mentally root for the rebels, whether we notice it or not. It's also easier for us to understand a corrupt government causing rebellions and not just some insane people deciding they don't want to live under the rule of their current government.

But what if that's all it really was? It's understandable why the Death Star was used. As I'd mentioned earlier, this use was similar to the atom bombs. Though highly controversial, it would be hard to argue that it didn't save more lives than it ended. It can still be argued, but it'd be hard.

That also explains why they were going to kill Princess Leia. She was a known rebel leader and icon. If they took her out of the picture, it would send a direct message to the rebels left alive.

Luke was going to be spared for the same reasons Anakin was spared. It was highly likely that the presence sensed within Anakin was a precursor for Luke. Anakin is his father, after all. It makes sense.

Why not save Leia? Her force sensitivity was not explored fully in depth until the end of the movies. And even then, it was only hinted at. She didn't have her skills developed, so it was unlikely she would be the Chosen One.

Palpatine's aim was still to bring balance to force, and as a result, the galaxy. It only failed because he didn't make the best choices. But when does anyone ever make the best decisions, especially an old coot like Emperor Palpatine?