The Circle Trilogy was my first introduction to DS9. There's a reason it hooked me on this series - it's freaking awesome.
The political atmosphere of these episodes, and this one in particular, are what makes for great Trek. I've always thought that Trek was at it's best when dealing with the politics of it's universe (
Journey to Babel, The Defector, just about any political episode of DS9, the Vulcan Trilogy in ENT).
My only complaint is that they should have delved into politics more deeply and more often than they already did.