Why should anyone play tit-for-tat games and let an enemy continue to injure and kill their citizens? To keep the fight fair? Ha! A fair fight means a fair chance of losing. In a fight where lives are on the line, a fair fight is the last thing I want. Sucker-punch them, squash a fly with a sledge, whatever euphemism you like. When it is life and death, you play to win, period. If that means it isn't a fair fight, then they shouldn't have engaged you in the first place, they were stupid.
“If that means it isn’t a fair fight, then they shouldn’t have engaged you in the first place, they were stupid.”
Precisely. And we all know that stupidity is a capital offense.