Hugh Nibley
"It was a dangerous coalition to be threatening a government which had barely succeeded in making a precarious peace with a foreign enemy of vastly superior forces, 'and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and dangerous' (Alma 46:7). 'Thus we see,' reflects Moroni, 'how quick the children of men do forget . . . and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause' (Alma 46:8-9).
"No one saw more clearly than Moroni where this was leading--all that he had achieved with great toil and danger was going to be thrown away if he did not act quickly. 'Angry with Amalickiah,' (Alma 46:11), he reacted with that speed and decision which is the mark of the great leader in the field." (Since Cumorah, pp. 303-4)