If the orders came from the Federation Council, it means a majority of members likely voted to move the Ba'ku.
Did Picard make the right decision with the Son'a/Baku
- Thread starter Godless Raven
- Start date
If the orders came from the Federation Council, it means a majority of members likely voted to move the Ba'ku.
Or that the council just authorized Dougherty to negotiate with the Ba'ku on the subject and Ru'afo somehow convinced him just flat out move them as a time saving measure. That might explain why it didn't take Riker long to convince them to review the decision, of course their so called allies shooting at their flagship in an unprovoked attack might have also had something to do with it.
All this is making me wish we had more information on Dougherty so that we were better informed as to his character and motivations. It's unlcear to me whether he just let himself get caught up in events in this case, or whether he was always a corruptible jerk. There's also the question of whether and how much he was involved with S31.
It's hard for me to believe he'd have lied to Picard about the nature of the situation at least until the point where he could be sure Picard couldn't immediately verify things with Starfleet.
It's hard for me to believe he'd have lied to Picard about the nature of the situation at least until the point where he could be sure Picard couldn't immediately verify things with Starfleet.
Dougherty's motives are very clearly to help the Federation. Picard's motives are very clearly to get in Anij's pants.
So the Federation council just decided that Starfleet should ignore General Order Number One (aka the Prime Directive) you know the one that says don't interfer with other species. Guess what moving them is interferring.
Why shouldn't they? Every Starfleet captain we've seen has ignored it whenever it suits them. Unless an innocent race is about to be annihilated by a natural disaster, then it's hands off!
Since General Order One was likely a guideline put in place by the civilian Federation government, I imagine that either there were exceptions built into it (there are 47 subsections according to Janeway) or they held a session and changed the parameters of the order.
Laws do change...
I love how if someone is supposedly corrupt they HAVE to be in Section 31.
Don't look at me; it was brought up in the novels and I'm not sure I care for it myself.
Dougherty OPENLY says in the movie that it's not a PD issue because the Baku aren't from that planet. They're not pre-contact or pre-warp either.
The PD has been interpreted so many different ways, and ignored so often, that it shouldn't be a guideline for anything.
absolutist ethical questions devoid of context are usually meaningless.
I believe the Federation's actions in STIX were ethically "okay," BUT I do think they would have been a lot better had they negotiated with and offered compensation to the Baku.
Again though, the reason that option was NOT pursued is because the movie didn't want to give us a situation where the Baku refused to move or negotiate, and then Picard is left defending a group that the audience has little sympathy for.
The bottom line is that the premise was flawed to the core and needed to be re-thought.
If you look at the history of the Federation and Starfleet, this isn't that unusual. Other planets that would have been consider to have been under the prime directive have been "interacted with" before.
Eminiar (stipulated to be non-warp) was contact to establish a "treaty port." Treaty ports are areas that are open to foreign trade, are legally extra-territorial, and are removing from the control of the local government.
Janus Six, a mining facility was established to mine natural resources, no consideration was give to whether there was intelligent life there. When intelligent life was found, it was put to work digging for ore. No dialog as to the planet belonging to the indigenous Horta species, or the Humans leaving.
Kirk: " She and her children can do all the tunneling they want. Our people will remove the minerals, and each side will leave the other alone."
The Halkans were contacted by the Federation to so that the Federation could mine a natural resource (dilithium), the Halkans were not indicated to be a post-warp species.
Capella, the native people of that world were contacted by the Federation so that the Federation could mine a natural resource (topaline), the Capellan were obviously pre-warp.
The argument could be made that the prime directive by law doesn't apply when needed natural resources are involved.
Moving them is what was going to keep the Baku from being killed by the harvesting process. If the particles could have been gathered without the process killing them, the Baku could have been left where they were in ignorance.
^But the Federation had no right to move them in the first place. They weren't Federation members. They colonised the world before the Federation was founded. So the Ba'ku had first claim to the then unihabiated planet. It doesn't matter that the planet would later fall within Federation space, there are no doubt many inhabiated worlds within the region of space claimed by the Federation that aren't members, can the Federation just swoop onto an inhabiated planet and take what they want? Sounds something more like what the Romulans or Cardassians would do.
Maybe, maybe not.
We know that two hundred years prior the Briar Patch belonged to the Klingons. If it belonged to them before the Ba'ku set down on the planet (which nothing in canon says one way or the other) and then that planet was given to the Federation for whatever reason, there would be continuous ownership of it by someone other than the Ba'ku.
BillJ, I think Klingon ownership / transfer of ownership of the briar patch in general, does not change the relevent fact of the Baku's claim or their long history of ownership.
Obviously the Klingons did not kick them out, and may not have even knew they existed, otherwise, their world would look very, very different.
The Federation's highest laws, and this dates back to Kirk in TOS at least, states that "your world is yours".
The Federation is an alliance for the mutual benefit of member worlds, much more like the United Nations than the Roman Empire.
Obviously the Klingons did not kick them out, and may not have even knew they existed, otherwise, their world would look very, very different.
The Federation's highest laws, and this dates back to Kirk in TOS at least, states that "your world is yours".
The Federation is an alliance for the mutual benefit of member worlds, much more like the United Nations than the Roman Empire.
even if the planet was definitively shown to be the Baku's, it doesn't really help their situation. It wouldn't prevent the Federation from negotiating with them for removal, and it certainly wouldn't obligate the Federation to DEFEND them from pretty much EVERY major power that's going to try to take it from them after the events of STIX.
What's to stop the Federation Council from saying "yeah it's yours, good luck defending it, tiny village of pacifist Luddites!"
But in Friday's Child, Kirk was talking to an indigenous people, about their own planet. If the Capellans were only 600 people from another planet, would Kirk have said the same? Unlikely.
I don't think anyone is arguing that the Baku are Federation Members.
Well, if the Federation and the Sona wanted to be nasty about it, the could have left the Baku and let them die.
Kirk: "But you have the ryetalyn that we need. If necessary, we'll take it."
If those 600 people were there for a long time (fact), and the colony was established by them (another fact), actually very likely.
How many times has the Enterprise-D visited an established colony, regardless of size or longevity, and respected the sovereignty of that colony? I think I lost count of that one.
Still, it is factually established as an ideal of the Federation, unless Kirk lied.
It is one of the key things that Kirk believes sets them apart from the Klingons.
even if the planet was definitively shown to be the Baku's, it doesn't really help their situation. It wouldn't prevent the Federation from negotiating with them for removal, and it certainly wouldn't obligate the Federation to DEFEND them from pretty much EVERY major power that's going to try to take it from them after the events of STIX.
What's to stop the Federation Council from saying "yeah it's yours, good luck defending it, tiny village of pacifist Luddites!"
One could theoretically invoke the Prime Directive in terms of whether or not to mount a defense, but the fact is that the Federation were partially and directly responsible, and the Baku were advanced enough that the Prime Directive was not applicable.
Morally and Ethically, Picard turned on a Federation that had turned it's back on its own core principals.
The Federation provides help and assistance when necessary, part of the mission profile of a Federation Starship.
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