What if they had been observing us for a while and aware of our true limitations and were posting this question as a test to see if we were capable of recognizi

What if they had been observing us for a while and aware of our true limitations and were posting this question as a test to see if we were capable of recognizing our own limitations as a species and resolve it through rational means rather than conflict? We would have failed greatly in that case with that preemptive attack.