Not always the good guys?

[TopperHenly]

Apologies in advance if this has already been touched on.

I am watching TNG now and after watching one of the episodes from Season 1, Symbiosis, left me a little depressed. It wasn't because of the decision that Picard had to take due to the Prime Directive, but because under a less experienced or simply corrupt captain could wash their hand of the whole thing and do nothing. This idea of bad decision being made by Starship captains was further illustrated in the episode I had watch Too Short a Season, where a captain decision based on the Prime Directive could a long and destructive war on a planet.

I assume there is enough checks and balances to minimise bad decisions based on the Prime Directive either caused by incompetence or impropriety. However, the question that bears to mind is how many bad decisions has been made by Star Fleet that has had long term consequences for itself and if so, how could it deal with it if it caused so much reputational damage that threatened its very credibility amongst non-Federation societies?

 

[sonak]

interesting concept. I’d say something like Archer’s decision in “Dear Doctor” to withhold a cure for a disease would be an example, if knowledge of that got out.
TNG’s interpretation of the Prime Directive was very rigid, and led to absurd conclusions like in “Pen Pals” and “Homeward.”

Since other powers, like the Klingon Empire and the Romulans, aren’t bound by the Prime Directive, that would seem to give them an advantage when trying to entice worlds not aligned with any of the major powers, since they would be free to intervene on one side of a planetary conflict , offer advanced weapons, or advanced medicine and food producing techniques.

Voyager also showed how the PD could harm the Federation’s reputation or create resentment for them not sharing technology, as such resentment came from the Kazon.

 

[Kirby]

Not a prime directive issue, but Sisko intentionally poisoning the atmosphere of a planet to make it uninhabitable to the Maquis, and threatening to do it to another planet certainly makes him not a good guy in that situation.
No apparent disciplinary came from that, either, so Starfleet seems to be ok with that behavior.

 

[Nyotarules]

No Starfleet and the UFP are not always the good guys. The organisation is not run by perfect people. It would be boring if it was.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

The Symbiosis decision seemed like a half measure but possibly the best way to legally cover his bases while also not supporting exploitation.

 

[The Wormhole]

For something that seems to be Starfleet's Most Important Policy, violating the Prime Directive doesn't seem to carry any real penalties. Pretty much all the main captains have done it with the exception of Archer, and that's only because there was no Prime Directive in his day. They're never punished over it.

And really, given the piss-poor screening process Starfleet has at selecting their Captains and Admirals, I'm sure many of made bad judgment calls in regards to their interpretation of the Prime Directive, if they even bothered to adhere to it at all. Which they likely didn't.

 

[Nyotarules]

For something that seems to be Starfleet's Most Important Policy, violating the Prime Directive doesn't seem to carry any real penalties.

We only see the ones that get away with it,

 

[The Wormhole]

Still, given how often they got away with it, I can't imagine the captains who aren't main characters face consequences either. After all, as of TNG S4 Picard had nine Prime Directive violations on record, and he's Captain of the Flagship, the Starfleet's Poster Boy.

 

[Nyotarules]

Still, given how often they got away with it, I can't imagine the captains who aren't main characters face consequences either. After all, as of TNG S4 Picard had nine Prime Directive violations on record, and he's Captain of the Flagship, the Starfleet's Poster Boy.

He's French and makes good wine

 

[Imaus]

Not a prime directive issue, but Sisko intentionally poisoning the atmosphere of a planet to make it uninhabitable to the Maquis, and threatening to do it to another planet certainly makes him not a good guy in that situation.
No apparent disciplinary came from that, either, so Starfleet seems to be ok with that behavior.

There are plenty of planets in known space and the Federation is expert at evacuations, resettlement, colonization, and support. Two meagre planets temporarily disabled, to knock out a terrorist group, to keep the peace with a foreign power, is in the right.

It's the Maquis that slapped that away because THOSE planets in the DMZ are oh-so important to them. Huff it and move, it's simple like in any other long-term disaster or warzone.

 

[donners22]

Imagine the fallout if it got out that the Federation’s success in the Dominion war is largely due to attempted genocide via biological warfare and assassination of a Romulan.

I was always a bit annoyed that there was no follow-up to that.

 

[Farscape One]

To be fair, one reason Janeway didn't get punished was because she was FAR outside the UFP. She became an Admiral sometime after getting home, obviously. But it would be hard, publicity wise, to do punishments on a captain that brought a crew home from a 75 year journey in only 7 years, fight the Borg and do as much damage to them as she did, and discover as much as she did. In other words, Starfleet didn't want to look like dicks.

Regarding Sisko's decision on those planets, the Maquis disabled TWO Starfleet ships and already made one Cardassian planet uninhabitable for them. Sisko was 100% right when he told Eddington they became an intolerable threat to Federation security.

 

[Kirby]

There are plenty of planets in known space and the Federation is expert at evacuations, resettlement, colonization, and support. Two meagre planets temporarily disabled, to knock out a terrorist group, to keep the peace with a foreign power, is in the right.

It's the Maquis that slapped that away because THOSE planets in the DMZ are oh-so important to them. Huff it and move, it's simple like in any other long-term disaster or warzone.

The one issue that wasn't discussed is that there is an assumption that everyone could safely get off the planet. I think they had an hour of something before the atmosphere would be contaminated. Sisko didn't take into account things like adequate accessability to get off the planet. What if there were more people than space on ships? What if there were people who didn't get the warning (people hiking or camping that didn't have access to communication equipment. People who lived alone and were asleep).
Also, it seemed a way too easy to poison the atmosphere of a planet. Who needs the Genesis device? Just slap some trilithum on a torpedo and destroy a society.

 

[Qonundrum]

Not a prime directive issue, but Sisko intentionally poisoning the atmosphere of a planet to make it uninhabitable to the Maquis, and threatening to do it to another planet certainly makes him not a good guy in that situation.
No apparent disciplinary came from that, either, so Starfleet seems to be ok with that behavior.

It's not as straightforward as that. The Maquis were shown to be rather active terrorists, time and again. Among other things they did, focusing solely on that episode you brought up ("For The Uniform"): One Maquis person was running around poisoning lots of planets and making them uninhabitable as the Maquis actions, along with everything else, was causing destabilization of a treaty (for which Sisko responded to Eddington's concern on that as well...).

...Ultimately, Sisko's job was to apprehend him and to prevent more planets from being made inhabitable. Attempts at a more civilized apprehension failed and Eddington continuing to run around poisoning planets is kind of a bad thing, I guess. What should Sisko have done instead, do a plastic storage bowl party and insert leaflets inside of every salad crisper? I don't know.

Even better: Eddington's arc is the sort of depth that TOS couldn't begin to engage in, noting that it too engaged in "the evil commander of the week"(tm) trope and its first example was Captain Tracy in "The Omega Glory" -- and that's just due to this story trying to be "Star Trek Insurrection" 30 years early with the magical fountain of youth, but at least was genuinely gripping as far as such a storyline involving magic water that makes you live forever (if not massively inebriated and not being able to think straight) could go. DS9 actually made scenarios a bit more complex... and is arguably that much more entertaining with its conceptualizing as a result.