It could force a ceasefire
This attack from Samsung could force Apple to stop their patent war, much like how USA and Soviet waved their nuclear arsenals at each other. You may be able to give me trouble, but I can do the same to you.
I hope (and believe) that this is the reason Samsung haven't done this before, and hopefully won't do this to other manufacturers. It's just a show of weapons to try to restore order. Hopefully it works, and this patent nonsense can stop.