While the Federation might try using Section 31, special ops, orbital strikes, interstellar beaming, etc to get Oh, the Romulans, like most national govts today would object to it. Small weak states can only shake their fists at the sky and send sternly worded notes to the UN.
As I noted above, interstellar civilizations have such powerful technologies in their possession that even a "weaker" space force can inflict devastating blows on a powerful state if they don't have too many scruples about killing civilians.
Stronger states can do more than that. If I am the POTF, I would ask Section 31
No, you wouldn't. By the 24th Century, Section 31 has been driven underground and is an illegal conspiracy within Starfleet that doesn't answer to the Federation government (similar to the Zhat Vash's relationship to the Tal Shiar, actually).
Sci said:
4) Hell, if Starfleet had placed Nedar under arrest on Earth, the Romulan Free State could use your exact same logic as an excuse to invade the Federation. "General Nedar prevented untold millions of innocent Romulans from being evacuated, and now you're refusing to extradite her to the Romulan Free State to stand trial for her crimes against the Romulan people? The Romulan Free State is well within its rights to go in and take her out! If you consider that an act of war, then bluntly you shouldn't have been harboring Nedar!"
If Starfleet just demoted Oh from Commodore to Captain and let her retire to Hawaii and didn't provide any serious charges, the Romulans would be in their right to go to Earth and take her out.
Would they? Or would it constitute a violation of Federation sovereignty? From an RFS point of view, what if the Federation retaliated by deciding to invade the RFS, arrest and imprison the government, and occupy their planets indefinitely a la Cardassia and Bajor? Would you, as Prime Minister or Taoiseach or whatever of the Romulan Free State, be willing to risk endangering millions of lives for the sake of retrieving one war criminal?
I mean, they already had commandos in Picard's vinyeard after all. At least now it would be justified.
I mean, that's part of the question: Did
they have commandos on Earth? Who is "they?" The Zhat Vash? The Tal Shiar? The Free State?
Sussing out the different Romulan factions and their levels of responsibility for the Coppelius Crisis is a really important factor here that you keep ignoring.
And the Romulans have a right to ask her for trial. She can face charges there after the Starfleet ones. Or the diplomats can work out which trial comes first, Romulan or Fed.
Totally agreed.
What point are you trying to make?
That violent action against a foreign state almost always carries unintended consequences that you cannot predict and whose costs can far exceed the benefits of such violent action, and that therefore the Federation should absolutely not undertake violent action unless doing so is absolutely necessary for their own protection. You keep reaching for violent action as your first resort instead of your last, and you don't seem to realize that's what you're doing.
I don't think the Romulans are in a fit state to fight a war with anyone, plus it would be a shame for such a backslide after working together so well in the Dominion War.
There is also the question as to what the ordinary Romulan population will think of it all including the politicians and military, if they find out that it was their own people that caused the Rescue plan to be abandoned.
They blamed the Federation and Starfleet but when they find out it was their own doing it could have serious civil consequences, Starfleet may not need to do anything as the Romulan Military and various Governments may decide it is time to get their own house in order.
Excellent points! Nedar may well find herself on the run from the Free State
and from the other Romulan states. Depending on how much control Zhat Vash members have over the Tal Shiar, it may find itself a, as an organization, to be a de facto paramilitary without a government.
Could we see reunification, if so I would expect that Picard will be investigating the Vulcan/Romulan schism and where the Vulcans originally came from before they arrived on Vulcan as indicated by Narek.
Good God, I really
hate that whole "Vulcans aren't really from Vulcan" line from TOS. Wish Chabon hadn't included it.