But when there is commitment to death by enough of the other side, you must annihilate them. Their "sacrifice" (or martyrdom) will inspire still others. They must be hunted down and killed or otherwise neutralized *before* than can martyr themselves. In the case of the democrats, they may not really care that much about reelection of individuals, they can always find another schmuck to take the slot.
One reason you do not annihilate the enemy is that all enemy won't fight to the death, but will a) run, b) desert, c) come over to your side. You want a circumstance to allow the faint of heart to escape without sacrificing your own troops. It's pretty brilliant, and it was EXACTLY what we did in Fallujah when we had a "pause," where hundreds of "fighters" left the ranks and quit fighting; joined the Iraqi army; or just went back to their jobs. Then we killed the rest surgically, without a "Gotterdamerung."