Why give the enemy a war when you can just pull the plug on him and watch him go down the drain? A war is bad for everybody, the latter is hardly noticed, to use your own words.
Having a moderator will stop things before they escalate out of proportions. Is this with moderators a U.S.A vs. Europe social thing?

BTW: I think Simon was pointing out what a moderator does, not telling you what you had to do.