I agree. It's a lowering of the moral standard. We feel uncomfortable with it at first, but when we see the results, we end up justifying it, so the moral bar is lowered even more. And again, it helps that the people murdered by the good guys weren't likable, in typical tv trope fashion. I think had the character of Vreenak and the forger been portrayed in a more sympathetic light, the episode and Sisko would have been viewed a lot less favorably by fans. But it was necessary by the writers to do that, in order for us to eventually rationalize Sisko's decision. If we don't like someone their lives are less valuable than those we do like. It helps to reinforce the us vs. them mentality, and using other groups different from our own, as pawns or collateral damage.
