Not if said genocide is never actually carried out, or even attempted.
And then ordered the cancellation of the plan. Cornwell listened to reason, realized she was wrong, and never actually carried out the attack (or even attempted it). That absolves her of all blame.
They formulated the plan, sent agents into enemy territory, planted bombs inside the planet to carry out the genocide, and then, AFTER changing their minds about doing it themselves, turned control of the genocidal bombs over to an unstable faction of the Klingon hierarchy so that she could blackmail the government into ending the war and uniting under her banner. What if they had called L'Rell's bluff and she set it off?
Let's try a little experiment that definitely won't result in me getting put on any NSA watchlists.
- Say "Death to America!" in a group chat with all your buds online.
- Formulate a plan online to bomb various government and prominent civilian facilities.
- Recruit, train, and equip assets to carry out said plan.
- Plant the bombs in those government and civilian facilities.
- Get cold feet or have a moment of moral clarity where you decide not to set off those bombs, but leave them in place anyway.
- Hand the remote detonator over to a person so they can force the government to end a war and blackmail the government into giving them sole control.
Now, this isn't even genocidal, but I can give you numerous documented examples of the FBI monitoring people once it gets to the first step, infiltrating the group and encouraging the act with dummy explosives once it gets to the second step, and then making arrests.
Obviously, when you are a member of the government that is plotting the genocide yourself like Cornwell and Starfleet Command and the Federation Council were, you can give yourself a free pass for whatever crimes you choose unfortunately, but let's not pretend that this was a simple "thought crime" on the moral and ethical spectrum and that if it had been someone outside the government plotting a similar crime against that government they wouldn't be going to prison, or at least planting a garden in a New Zealand penal colony like Tom Paris.
God help me, I actually agree with
Kane_Steel.
He was willing to commit genocide against the Borg. With approval from Starfleet Command.
This is a whole separate topic for another forum, but I don't think destroying the Borg can really be called genocide in the traditional sense, since they're not a distinct species or culture, but rather a collection of thousands of them who have all had their individual identities removed. It's more like killing zombies than killing a culture. The only ones who could be considered distinct are the Queens and the designated Speakers for the Borg like Locutus and Seven who have some small degree of autonomy.
It doesn't excuse the action of trying to kill them ALL by any means, since it's still killing billions or even trillions who can be demonstrably freed from the Collective (it's just incredibly difficult to do so and might result in your species being assimilated or wiped out in the meantime), but it's not quite the same thing as wiping out the Klingons. And of course, this was the early days before they were defeating and encountering freed Borg left and right like Voyager.
Of course, also unlike the Klingons, who will kill a lot of people but generally prefer conquest and control over completely wiping out a species (except the poor tribbles), the Borg will assimilate or wipe out an entire species if given the chance, so you are fighting for your very existence.
Why is it worse now, than when Picard wanted to do it?
Picard and The Borg.
Starfleet has never been perfect.
Stop treating them that way.
Yeah, and?
The Federation Council and Starfleet Command should have been arrested after looking the other way while Section 31 plotted and carried out the attempted genocide of the Founders.
The Federation Council and Starfleet Command should have been arrested or at the very least removed from office after plotting the forced relocation of the Bak'u.
I love me some DS9 and Sisko, but Sisko should have been arrested after poisoning that planet to get the Maquis to evacuate, and so should Worf and Kira for going along with it.
If it ever got out, Sisko should have been arrested for assassinating the Romulan senator.
And if you believe killing the Borg is genocide, than the Federation Council/Starfleet/Picard and Janeway should be arrested.
What kind of logic is it that because people have been given a free pass on horrible acts in the past (or future, in this case) that that means all subsequent horrible acts should also be given the same pass?
