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What was Sisko's worst command decision?

Jayson1

Fleet Admiral
Admiral
Every Captain has a few bad calls. Which one do you think was Sisko's? I think the big one is maybe not even his fault but Starfeet and even Bajor and that is they should have shutdown the Wormhole in season 3 soon as they found out the Founders were in the AQ. Maybe the Dominion would eventually come but it would give them time to at least prepare for them.


Jason
 
I think Sisko's decision to return Rugal to his Cardassian father required more care and thoughtfulness than a 44-minute episode allowed for.

I was thrilled when "The Never-Ending Sacrifice" picked up on Rugal's story and did so exceptionally well.

Yes, this is just what came to mind when I saw the thread title. As presented, I really didn't think Sisko made the best call.
 
I think Sisko's decision to return Rugal to his Cardassian father required more care and thoughtfulness than a 44-minute episode allowed for.

I was thrilled when "The Never-Ending Sacrifice" picked up on Rugal's story and did so exceptionally well.

I agree. I kind of wish I had picked that one now.

Jason
 
Representing Dax and Worf in their legal matters were terrible command decisions. These were extremely serious legal matters and they should have had proper legal representation. While I don't necessarily disagree with the end decision I'd lump him agreeing to be involved in the custody battle mentioned above in the same vein.
 
I really wish people would stop with the tired old chestnut that he "poisoned a planet", which really overgeneralizes what he did. The end of the episode specifically notes that the Cardassians and Maquis are going to exchange planets because Sisko specifically didn't poison the planet against anyone and everything.

It's not exactly any different from Kirk's solution to "A Private Little War", though I guess we could ask whether that was one of Kirk's worst command decisions.
 
I really wish people would stop with the tired old chestnut that he "poisoned a planet", which really overgeneralizes what he did. The end of the episode specifically notes that the Cardassians and Maquis are going to exchange planets because Sisko specifically didn't poison the planet against anyone and everything.

It's not exactly any different from Kirk's solution to "A Private Little War", though I guess we could ask whether that was one of Kirk's worst command decisions.

Amen!
 
I really wish people would stop with the tired old chestnut that he "poisoned a planet", which really overgeneralizes what he did. The end of the episode specifically notes that the Cardassians and Maquis are going to exchange planets because Sisko specifically didn't poison the planet against anyone and everything.

It's not exactly any different from Kirk's solution to "A Private Little War", though I guess we could ask whether that was one of Kirk's worst command decisions.
He played god before he became one ;)
 
I really wish people would stop with the tired old chestnut that he "poisoned a planet", which really overgeneralizes what he did. The end of the episode specifically notes that the Cardassians and Maquis are going to exchange planets because Sisko specifically didn't poison the planet against anyone and everything.
He just poisoned for it for the people currently living there, that's totally fine.:rolleyes: His actions in that episode called for a mutiny but no one had the balls to pull out a phaser and end his command.
 
I can't completely like Sisko because of that, just like I can't fully like Janeway after her torture episode
 
He just poisoned for it for the people currently living there, that's totally fine.:rolleyes: His actions in that episode called for a mutiny but no one had the balls to pull out a phaser and end his command.

I didn't say it was a good decision, I just objected to the overly general "poisoned the planet" phrasing.

In "The Chase" a planet actually is poisoned to the point where nobody can live there afterward, IIRC. Sisko didn't do anything on that scale.
 
Say what you will about the poison planet episode but lets not forget that nobody actually died and it worked in capturing Edington.


Jason
 
I originally thought in "Change of Heart" sending Newlyweds Worf and Jadzia on a crucial and dangerous mission that resulted in Worf choosing his wife over the mission. But I went back and watched the episode and it was Kira who gave them the orders. So that was her worst command decision.

AR-558 was a complete botch job from the top down, especially because Starfleet lost the array anyways. While Sisko wasn't the one sending troops to their deaths, that decision came from above him. Getting into a ground battle with Jem'hadar being significantly outnumbered in bad terrain was just stupid (again, not his fault).

Instead of trying to hold the communications array, Starfleet should have just destroyed AR-558 and the array instead of squandering lives fighting over some rock.

Monitoring communications that the Dominion made didn't stop the Breen from developing their dampening weapon and the ultimate destruction of the Defiant and many other ships in the process of losing Chin'toka back to the Dominion anyways.

As far as individual decisions, Sisko's Gamma Quadrant tactics were questionable, which speaks more to how well the Founders were prepared than it does to his military expertise, because he was usually on the right side of strategy in the Alpha Quadrant.

All in all, in "The Adversary" Sisko trusting Krajensky and not confirming his orders with Starfleet before sending the Defiant right at the Tzenkethi for no real good reason (other than to make Federation presence known to them) was a poor decision.

Yes, Sisko had no way of knowing that Krajensky was a Changeling, but he played right into the Founders hands and needed Odo to bail him out by killing that Changeling.
 
In "Change of Heart" didn't they say Worf and Jadzia were already nearby in the shuttlecraft anyway, and the only one who would be close enough to have a chance at extracting the spy on the schedule that would work?
 
In "Change of Heart" didn't they say Worf and Jadzia were already nearby in the shuttlecraft anyway, and the only one who would be close enough to have a chance at extracting the spy on the schedule that would work?

Kira sends them from DS9 because the Defiant was on another mission and most of the other Runabouts were doing training exercises.

My question is, why them? Why only the two of them?
 
Likely due to them being the highest ranked Starfleet officers on the station at the time. Worf definitely has high access because of his rank AND position, and Jadzia because of her rank. This mission was done in such secrecy that even when Worf botched it, he never got in trouble officially. I can see that as a reason, though it would have been smarter to send Worf with someone else.
 
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