Eliezer, I'm very sorry if my language offends. If you tell the world you are building an AI and plan that post-foom it will take over the world, well then that sounds to me like a declaration of total war on the rest of the world. Now you might reasonably seek as large a coalition as possible to join you in your effort, and you might plan for the AI to not prefer you or your coalition in the acts it chooses. And you might reasonably see your hand as forced because other AI projects exist that would take over the world if you do not. But still, that take over the world step sure sounds like total war to me.

Oh, and on your "line of retreat", I might well join your coalition, given these assumptions. I tried to be clear about that in my Stuck In Throat post as well.