^Was it that the tactic was first used against the Borg? (A ref to "Best of Both Worlds", perhaps?"
Good catch on the Trek reference, but there's also an Earth history reference as well.
Anyway...yes, I too wonder how the Starfleet folks will view this. I half-viewed this as a "You are incapable of making the hard decisions, so we'll do it for you..."
Now, I know Macet's didn't mean it that way, but...frankly, I was almost wishing that Spiro would say--quietly, in a "private conversation" tone, of course--something like, "If it's all the same to you, sir...I'll be able to do it."
The trouble is, I don't think Starfleet regs would've allowed him to do it--that's VERY much against what I think Starfleet would allow. Now, we know Spirodopoulos isn't a total stickler for the rules, but the trouble is that he's having to play two roles here.
There's a difficult political game Spirodopoulos is playing here with his own people, and basically it's this: he's bending the rules BIG time here by allying with the rebel Cardassians instead of trying to escape back to Starfleet, something that some might even see as a flagrant violation of the
Military Code of Conduct. (Whereas I think Spirodopoulos sees it as taking advantage of an unprecedented tactical situation during a time when the rest of the Federation has been knocked out of the war by the Breen weapon--not aiding or accepting favors from the enemy, but helping an unexpected ally.) So in order to accomplish his objectives without the Cardassians OR the Starfleet soldiers fearing he's betrayed them, he has to work with the Cardassians AND keep his people buffered, to a certain degree. They HAVE to feel that HE is looking out for THEM and them first, even as he is working with the Cardassians on THEIR tactical objectives. AND, he has to make sure he doesn't lose his own people's confidence by letting it be thought that he's become "too Cardassian." Look back at the situation where he gets between his people and Gul Speros and you'll see another example of that dilemma being laid out.
And Macet most certainly did not feel he was being patronizing and I don't think Spirodopoulos took it that way. Rather, I saw it as Macet doing what Dukat and many other guls never could: acknowledging an error before an alien. The Cardassian reputation is one of arrogance and seeing oneself as superior to alien races. Macet, however, is acknowledging that he made an inappropriate call as far as the Starfleet officers are concerned, and I actually think that built trust with Spirodopoulos, that he was willing to do that.
I am glad, however, to see the debate starting--I was wondering when people were going to really start hitting the controversial issues that are going on here.
Macet may be a principled man, but he is also a soldier and he acts like one, as he should. Of course, the distinction with certain other military characters is that Macet considers the situation thoughtfully rather than employing violence for its own sake. Still, the Cardassian culture's "Justice Must Be Done, And Bloodily" mentality still poked through ever so slightly, a nice reminder that Macet is not Federation. It was skillfully balanced, though, by the decision to permit the vessels carrying Federation personnel not to participate in the destruction. I wonder what the Starfleet personnel will think of it in the days to come. How will they define Macet's actions, not having our insight into his head 
