I could see what you are saying Mickey and it is an interesting point. But as Turnbull pointed out, he was trying to get the hell out of there. He must have been thinking that that was possibly his only way of getting out in one piece. As Don Cardi pointed out, Sonny was a hot head and Tom had a heck of a job trying to counter act him and outweigh his temper and try to shake some reason into him.

Ironically I think it was Tom's contention that a political solution and a stalemate may allow them to get some time and devise a more solid plan of action or at least wait for a great opportunity to strike. Likewise, Tom acknowledged that the limitations of Sonny's leadership based upon his hotheaded-impulivness would perhaps goad action out of the Tattaglias, who had Solozzo's back. Either move would perhaps cause a great war and greatly fuck up the family and even perhaps lead to the quick and untimely death of Vito. He was doing what was in the best interest of the family and giving Solozzo a reasonable concession here or there is a central strategy in negotiating in general. You gotta remember he wasn't a wartime consigliere, he was primarily a lawyer.