Full Idea
Counterfactual analyses of event causation don't seem to work, because 'if Napoleon hadn't been born he wouldn't have died' is true, but doesn't mean his birth caused his death.
Clarification
'Counterfactual' analysis is based on 'If so-and-so happened..'
Gist of Idea
'If he wasn't born he wouldn't have died' doesn't mean birth causes death, so causation isn't counterfactual
Source
E.J. Lowe (A Survey of Metaphysics [2002], p.161)
Book Reference
Lowe,E.J.: 'A Survey of Metaphysics' [OUP 2002], p.161
A Reaction
Nice counterexample, which looks pretty conclusive. Birth makes death possible; it creates the necessary conditions within which it can be caused.