Except we didn't end up at war with Cardassia until about a decade later. So yes, we would have been apologizing for killing Cardassians in Cardassian space in a time where we were not at war. That is a no no.
Benjamin Maxwell
- Thread starter R. Star
- Start date
Except we didn't end up at war with Cardassia until about a decade later. So yes, we would have been apologizing for killing Cardassians in Cardassian space in a time where we were not at war. That is a no no.
Why? Every other culture in the region is always yelling "We have the right!" when they kill Feds outside declared wars. And the Feds don't want to make Cardassians feel placated. They want to make Cardassians feel humiliated. Up to that point, this has been the winning formula in keeping them from achieving anything really nasty. (Works with Klingons, too.)
Timo Saloniemi
Timo Saloniemi
What other culture comes INSIDE Federation Space to kill Feds? If I have to explain to you why entering Cardassian space to murder hundreds of people is a bad thing then I will just respectfully bow out of this debate. Starfleet obviously didn't approve of Maxwell's actions. They did send Picard to you know...stop him right? They obviously knew that it wasn't a good situation. Again, tell my why if we have the right to do this Picard didn't start killing the Cardassians he was dealing with in this episode. I'm begging you to answer this question specifically. If he had "proof," then why not send Maxwell back to the Phoenix and go hunting so to speak?
The Romulans in Balance of Terror.
But to flatly state nothing good came out of it either is just as wrong.
Just because Starfleet sent Picard to retrieve Maxwell doesn't mean they didn't approve. If you did a secret poll of leadership on any action taken through history, I'm sure it would show that some disapprove of the actions and others approved. Whether they approved or not, they had a treaty to uphold that was negotiated by the civilian government.
Sometimes giving a bully a bloody nose is enough to make them think twice before attacking again. In that brief period, they showed the Cardassians that they have superior ships, superior firepower and superior sensors.
By all accounts this was a fragile peace as we've seen in this episode, Ensign Ro, Chain of Command and on into Deep Space Nine. The Cardassians proved themselves untrustworthy and got their clocks cleaned by a starship captain who had a score to settle. I don't see any outrage directed at the type of people who would murder innocents.
You seem offended that people disagree with you. But I disagree with you. Macet was continuing to lie even after it was proven that they were arming. Picard didn't moralize about the Cardassians having the right to rearm that sector, so that probably says something about the treaty stipulations right there.
Would I trust Maxwell in the chain of command again? I've already said no. But that wouldn't preclude me from leaning on his years of experience as an analyst. If I'm trying to win a war I'm going to use all the assets at my disposal.
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Man there is nothing in the world worth getting offended about on this site. I have thicker skin than that. If you disagree that's no problem this topic had provided entertainment to me and that is all that I come to this site for. I'm very thankful that you and a few others kept it going. I only wish that more people would have weighed in.
As far as Macet goes, hell why not go all in and that point. Picard could have taken him prisoner destroyed his ship and then went on to destroy the massing forces at the border.
Because, like he said in the episode, he was there to protect the peace. A peace his government negotiated.
Because, like he said in the episode, he was there to protect the peace. A peace his government negotiated.
No argument there Bill
