Did Sisko commit a war crime?

[Voth commando1]

And... Eddington was already running around poisoning planetary atmospheres and killing a lot more innocent people. Sisko tried other means for Eddington to stand down and Eddington just laughed. What's he supposed to do, take the Arnold Rimmer course in warfare (wearing glasses, wearing t-shirts that say "Give quiche a chance", and coming up with groups such as "The Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society"?)

"At what point do conventional means fail" is one of the issues of the story and it was spelled out.

Eddington was taking advantage of the chaos in the cardassian empire and pressing his advantage. He was probably within months of driving the Cardassians from the DMZ and declaring an independent Maquis state.

He was forced to attack Federation targets because the Federation intervened.

Disclaimer: I am an Eddington fan.

 

[Tenacity]

He was forced to attack Federation targets because the Federation intervened.

Forced?

 

[Voth commando1]

Forced?

The Federation wouldn't stand aside and let him drive back the Cardassians. Which he was doing.

 

[DonIago]

^Yes, he was certainly destabilizing the region.

 

[Voth commando1]

And secure freedom for his people.

 

[DonIago]

They weren't enslaved.

And this is off-topic.

 

[kkt]

The Federation wouldn't stand aside and let him drive back the Cardassians. Which he was doing.

But he wasn't driving the Cardassians back, he was driving them to bring in a fleet to mop up the Maquis.

 

[Voth commando1]

But he wasn't driving the Cardassians back, he was driving them to bring in a fleet to mop up the Maquis.

The Cardassian empire was in chaos, it had gone through at least two coups, the Klingons were thrashing them and the time was ripe to establish a Maquis state.

 

[DonIago]

That seems akin to saying I'm in chaos when a few mosquitoes swarm me. Yeah, I might be a little disoriented and displeased, but then I bug-bomb the place.

 

[Voth commando1]

Jadzia Dax stated "The Maquis have turned the tide."

 

[Prax]

I am not an Eddington Fan. He is WithOut honor, but I don't think it would have made a difference with The Cardassians joining the Dominion. Had Starfleet been doing their job and enforcing the treaty, the Maquis wouldn't have had to fight. It was the dominion who led the Klingons against the cardies anyway, right? The Maquis took advantage, and the Klingons supported them.

Maybe with no Dominion it would've been possible to beat the Cardassians and get them to actually behave.

It's all Sisko's fault for finding the wormhole. Everything was hunky dory before that.

 

[Voth commando1]

I am an Eddington fan, I think he was wily, charismatic, and worth following. But that's my cup of tea.

 

[fireproof78]

I am not an Eddington Fan. He is WithOut honor, but I don't think it would have made a difference with The Cardassians joining the Dominion. Had Starfleet been doing their job and enforcing the treaty, the Maquis wouldn't have had to fight. It was the dominion who led the Klingons against the cardies anyway, right? The Maquis took advantage, and the Klingons supported them.

Maybe with no Dominion it would've been possible to beat the Cardassians and get them to actually behave.

It's all Sisko's fault for finding the wormhole. Everything was hunky dory before that.

I'm just generally not a Maquis fan. It was a problem of the Federation's making made all the worse by mistake after mistake. Nothing grand or heroic about it. I agree, Starfleet dropped the ball.

 

[Paradise City]

I think he's a cool character with some virtues, Eddington. I very much enjoyed him as a character.

I see the Maquis through the lense of peoples who have an authentic grievance and to do so you need to accept a continuity error (or whatever you want to call it). It's the writers intent for the colonists to have built something that they'd wish to defend with their lives. Even if that doesn't tally with depictions of a universe that doesn't prize property and can relocate anywhere with ease.

So I think the Maquis and Eddington have genuine grievances here as per the writers intent. The Maquis aren't just waging war for the giggles, Eddington isn't doing it for the laughs. They've got a plausible cause here.

All that said, Eddington has serious vices and faults. Starfleet wasn't ever going to tolerate the Maquis. Never going to happen. His impressive skills has him falling headfirst into a vainglorious mentality and Sisko finally wins the debate when he pulls away the curtains to reveal a residue of impoverished refugees and then says "you lead them there".

 

[Prax]

The Marquis had a grievance, but what was Eddington's?

Cal Hudson lived in the DMZ, and Chakotay resigned his commission to go help his people. The show gives the impression that Eddington's out for personal glory.

 

[Mister Spock]

Just because he didn't live there doesn't mean he can't sympathise with them. It's like the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War, where volunteers from around the world - including Ernest Hemmingway and George Orwell - fought against the fascist regime in Spain.

 

[Tenacity]

And secure freedom for his people.

Correction, Eddington was ensuring their deaths.

Eddington's charming little quest lead to the slaughter of those stupid enough to believe in him.

 

[Prax]

Just because he didn't live there doesn't mean he can't sympathise with them. It's like the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War, where volunteers from around the world - including Ernest Hemmingway and George Orwell - fought against the fascist regime in Spain.

But what was Eddington's motivation? He used his position in Starfleet as an advantage, while he was secretly a Maquis. He set up Kassidy, deceived Sisko. He could have just resigned like Chakotay.

Of course he sympathized with them. He also led them in a relentless war and was leading radical Maquis to declare some independent state. What about all the people living there that don't want to be part of his new nation.

He also had a desire to be in command, but didn't think he would get there, but DID think he was better than Sisko. He enjoyed taunting Sisko, then would say "it's not personal with me. Just leave me alone"

Yes, Eddington's huge ego led him on a quest for glory and fame.

 

[kkt]

I am an Eddington fan, I think he was wily, charismatic, and worth following. But that's my cup of tea.

Eddington was wily and charismaric, and very very wrong. Clever tactics, if you don't mind betraying your friends and service, but horrible strategy.

There's no way his actions would have produced a free Maquis state on their original home planets. The Maquis never had more than a handful of ships, and the brief time they had the Defiant was the only time they had a ship thatr could hold its own against Cardassian forces for even a little while.

They already lost their original home planets in order to hide in the Badlands. Instead of running and hiding somewhere, they could have accepted a generous relocation deal from the Federation, been moved there and been left alone as much as they wanted. Maybe they'd like to join Alixus in Paradise.

If the Federation hadn't intervened, Cardassia would have wiped them out. A handful of small, obsolete fighters is no match for the Cardassian fleet even in its weakened condition. Would have taken weeks to wipe out any colonies in their original positions, possibly months to get any of the Maquis fighters they tried to use.

Sucks to have to relocate, but governments have the power to relocate people if needed for the public good. Eminent domain is not a new concept, even applied to a population. See, for instance, removing the Israeli settlements in the Sinai to implement the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Any group like the Maquis which comes up with "leaders" like Eddington, clearly doesn't deserve to be an independent state.

So the answer is: No, Sisko didn't commit a war crime, and Eddington never committed anything ELSE.