DT, I think there's much validity to your analysis. We'll never know if Michael's perception of who were his enemies was accurate or not. But, Tom tended to do what Lawyers tend to do and that is to mitigate responses. I add that Vito wanted Tom out because he realized that Tom was not, indeed, a wartime consigliere. He had a good brain for many things, but not glandular instinct for violence. I also think that at that point Michael's attitude toward Tom was just about at its lowest ebb if not actually there. It was only because of Vito's death that Michael had to seek out Tom later.