By the way on the Groumall Ziyal and he seemed to get around quite well, but on DS9, when the Cardassians have reconquered it, she can´t stand him („You and I have nothing to talk about!“).
Guess that it because he changed to much on the Bird of Prey and became so aggressive, especially towards Bajorans. Also Dukats influence? On the Groumal, he not really likes Kira, but we see him not to be so full hate as we see him later on DS9.
I can't agree with you there, and I'm not sure what you mean about his attitude to Kira and Ziyal on the Groumall. Damar had very little to do in
Return to Grace, and we didn't really have an idea what he was like as a character. He wasn't friendly to Kira or to Ziyal, he was just neutral. His 'change' in attitude is nothing but the writers giving the character more to do and fleshing him out. Casey Biggs was reportedly disappointed when he was first cast in RTG, finding out that he barely had any lines and that his character was just in the background, but the producers told him that they had a lot more planned for Damar.
And Dukat is the last person that Damar would learn hatred for Ziyal from, or even Kira - remember when Damar said to Quark about Kira "I don't know what Dukat sees in her." Not that Dukat does not hate her or the Bajorans deep inside (it's actually a more complex, weird mix of hate and fascination and anger and desire to win their approval), but he wouldn't show it that way.
Damar is your honest, blunt Cardassian soldier/patriot... complete with the bad things it entails, like prejudice towards Bajorans and half-Bajoran children. Damar hates Bajorans the way that most Cardassians, Cardassian military especially, probably hate Bajorans. His friend Rusot was pretty much like just this bad side of Damar. Dukat, on the other hand, is usually condescending to Bajorans (they are children he wanted to help etc.) rather than openly hostile. I don't think that pre-
Waltz Dukat would ever have admitted to himself that he felt any hatred for the Bajorans.
There's a certain... sass to Damar that I think Dukat liked in people. He certainly liked that trait in Kira. The way Damar phrases things and says them without much regard for who is around him (Like saying he'd like to "toss that smug little Vorta out the nearest airlock and his founder with him") gives him a little edge that makes him appealing to Dukat I think. I think Dukat sees in Damar a younger version of himself who doesn't have to wear the stain of the Occupation. Any report Dukat made about Damar would likely suggest as much in very frank language.
I'm not sure about Dukat seeing Damar as a younger version of himself. As noted, Dukat is more polished, charming, sneakier than most Cardassian soldiers. Was he more open and honest when he was younger? That's interesting to think about. I certainly agree, however, that he likes the "sass" and honesty and bluntness in people. Maybe it's because he's used to not being able to trust people, so he sees Damar and even Kira as someone he can trust. He knew that Damar was not a sycophant, but someone who was really open and honest, and he certainly enjoyed the way Damar looked up to him and idolized him more than anyone outside of Ziyal. and Dukat certainly loves being adored.
I don't know why you all insist on Damar being so young. Yes, he is just a glinn when we first meet him, but how is Dukat no more than a gul before season 4, after the career he's had? Damar doesn't seem like a fresh inexperienced soldier to me, he seems like someone who's had some experience, but is just someone who does not have an ambition to lead. He is an honest, blunt soldier, but he never saw himself as a leader. It's only after Dukat was not around anymore that he got out of Dukat's shadow, and was forced to step up and become a leader. Even in season 7, he practically begs Dukat to come back and take over, before Dukat tries to convince him that he has what it takes. But that's also what made him perfect for a heroic leader of the Resistance - Damar really did fight for Cardassia, not for his own greatness.
Now I'm sure that Dukat also always believed he was doing the best for Cardassia, that
he knew what was best for it, and that he would never consciously betray Cardassia. But he tended to confuse the greatness of Cardassia with his own greatness. His own ambition and need for recognition and admiration is what really drove him, even though he always told himself he was doing the best for Cardassia, or for Bajor. He always seemed somehow strangely disconnected from Cardassia (and more obsessed with Bajor and Terok Nor). I wonder if all this has something to do with the fact that his father was executed and that he must have had the stigma of the son of a traitor. I wish this part of his backstory was more explored in either the show or the books.
As mentioned before, he is more charming, more polished, articulate, sneakier than your average Cardassian soldier. We've seen other Cardassians with those qualities, but they were usually Obsidian Order. But Dukat would never make a good spy, because of his flamboyance and need to be at the centre of attention. I also wouldn't see him as a typical politician, either - not one of those who just sit somewhere and make decisions. He is a real soldier at core, one who commands but also gets in the action and likes the
hands-on approach, but he's not the type of soldier who just obeys the orders, he's the type who will look to do his own thing and who wants to get to the top. He is like one of those military officers who perform a
coup d'etat and become leaders of the state and narcissistic dictators, being able to win the loyalty of the army but also the popular support through their personal charisma and ability to use patriotic and populist propaganda, like Gaddafi or Idi Amin.
As for the ages, well, if you asked me in the first 3 seasons, without having seen episodes that suggest otherwise, and based on the combination of their looks, ranks, history, and general impressions I get, I'd probably say, early 30s for Kira, mid to late 40s for Dukat (in season 7, when he looked Bajoran, I might have thought, about 50), and Garak always seemed to be about the same age as Dukat. Damar, I'd probably say, similar to Kira - early to mid 30s in season 4. (The actors are actually older though: Biggs - 40 in season 4; Visitor - late 30s/early 40s; Alaimo and Robinson - in their mid-50s during the show). Well, Dukat may well be in his 50s in human terms and just in really good shape, but I was surprised when I first learned about the actor's age. TerokNor, you thought that Dukat was 10 years older than Garak? I'm curious, why?
But, while there is nothing on the show to suggest Damar's and Garak's ages, Kira's age was determined in
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night as 2343, which makes her just 26 at the start of the show. All right, I guess, since she was a resistance fighter since the age of 12, and was a distinguished fighter, she may well have become a major by that age, however unlikely that is under normal circumstances. I doubt that this was meant to be her age in season 1, but obviously, in order to make the "Dukat was involved with Kira's mom" retcon to work, the writers had to make Kira younger, and Dukat older than the actors who played them. The latter is more problematic, since it makes Dukat at least over 60, and more likely at least about 70, which suggests that Cardassians age different than humans... Now this is, of course, quite possible, and we've seen it with other alien races in Trek, but there are also some other matters, such as Dukat's career - how long was he the Prefect? And it gets even less likely that he wouldn't have been promoted to legate after such a long and distinguished career. Although, I guess someone could always mention Picard being always a captain as an example. And you could explain it by Dukat 1) being the son of an executed "traitor" and 2) he probably makes enemies as easily as friends in the Central Command, plus the outcome of the Occupation of Bajor might have been seen as a failure on his part.
The books, however, took the idea of Cardassians aging more slowly and ran with it. If you have a problem with Damar being more than 30, how about Dukat's age being extended in
Day of the Vipers to something insane, like 80 or over? Same with a bunch of other Cardassian and Bajoran characters from the show (Kotan Pa'dar, Jaro Essa, Keeve Falor). But the books are full of inconsistencies in that regard -
A Stitch in Time makes Garak a child while the Occupation is still underway (unless he's lying) yet it is implied that he and Dukat are about the same age, while
The Never-Ending Sacrifice makes Tekeny Ghemor significantly older than Kotan Pa'dar (and therefore, Dukat as well, since those two are supposed to be the same age according to
Day of the Vipers), yet we were told in the show that he was just 19 when he was a soldier on Bajor. It's a complete mess.
He's a by-the-book Cardassian soldier who is loyal to his commander and the state, obeys orders, etc, but clearly has also- lurking underneath- a degree of free-thinking independence and charisma that allows him to recognise Dukat's own. I mean, Dukat is not your typical commanding Cardassian. He's considerably less blunt and more charming, perhaps, I don't know, sneaky. Damar has- under that initial thuggish demeanor- a clearer type of charisma that is equivalent to- if cleaner than- Dukat's own. I like your "sass" idea, too, Withers
See following post. *sight* I have left a lot thought out of it for the moment, cause I guess otherwise it gets even more unreadable as it is already. Hope it is still readable?
). 
