One point I would like to make to Odin. To use your analogy, the rabbit waved the white flag at the fox. When the fox trotted over to ask 'what's up', the rabbit attacked him. This would be a terrible no-no.

Not respecting the white flag proffered by your opponent appears to be the argument you're making. I still have some qualms about that, but it seems more understandable. I hope you would agree that using a white flag as a pretext to get a bead on the head of your opponent is a move that will erode trust and civility in just about all future conflicts, and thus should not be allowed.

Just as a sidenote, does the so-called Independent always write its news stories like editorial page position pieces?