Stofsk wrote:
Except that Hudson said "The Federation abandoned us. Told us to take care of ourselves." He's the Starfleet officer in charge over there, and if anyone knows the politics of the situation it would be him. Why take his meaning in any other way? Perhaps the Federation wasn't willing to listen.
He wants to solve the situation his own way and that fits with what he is saying, they don't want a peace they want to force the Cardies out of the DMZ and set up their own nation.
As he said, they want retaliation. Their people were being victimised, the Cardassians should have been brought to account on that matter as well, but weren't.
They want retaliation at the cost of peace, they are willing to make their own colonists and innocent Cardassian colonists (not to mention normal Federation citizens outside the zone) suffer in exchange for getting back at the spoon heads.
Sisko is sounding desperate, and betrays his naivette. After all, what's he going to write in his report about the matter? Starfleet's gonna wonder why Hudson hasn't been sending in reports as well.
He could have covered it (it had only been a day or two) and the point was Sisko offered peace more than once like you alleged.
The Cardassians started the treachery, it has to end with them. In other words, they're the ones who have to come to the Federation and say the shipments have stopped, we're serious now. Besides, did the Federation come to the Cardassian's door and took them to account for their illegal activities?
How could they? The Cardassians would just point at the Federation citizens turned terrorists and say they were just protecting their people, how can Starfleet respond?
Is it Sisko's offer to make? He's a lowly Commander, if a Federation high official made that offer Hudson would, perhaps, have relented - because that would show the Maquis that the Federation was serious. Remember Sisko's short and furious argument with Starfleet about this matter? They didn't care about the Maquis's concerns.
They wanted it solved, if it could have been solved through peaceful means the Federation would have gone for it as for Cal wantnig a high offcial, would it have hurt to enquire first before escalating the war?
It is tragic, but neither Hudson or Sisko can really back out now. The Federation could've reconsidered its policy on this matter and sent a diplomatic envoy to the colonies. The Cardassians could've done the same. They didn't. Hudson feels his actions are imperative, as does Sisko - both are caught in their own crucible and both have no way out other than what goes down.
Again my point is Sisko continually offered, you made out as if he turned up said "Surrender now" and then started shooting people, Sisko did everything he could to try and get a peaceful solution and Cal was out for blood.
Hudson could've retreated, but he would have lost all his credibility in the eyes of the people he was sent to represent. Sisko could've retreated, but probably relieved of his post if his actions got back to SFC. The only party that could've really ended this was Dukat, and what did he do? Try to destroy Hudson to prevent him from getting away.
What could Dukat do exactly? Hudson was going to fire on a Cardassian colony, he chose that over a chance at peace as I said.
Erm, you don't disagree, but then you disagree?
I don't disagree that they shouldn't have had to move but when that became the choice before them they should have left.
Try a few hundred-thousand people. That would not have been a simple task, and they were tied to their lands for decades. Would I, in other words, abandon Queensland to, say, the Japanese in WW2 - to prevent a war? In that case, hell no. Remember that the territorial concessions were a part of a peace treaty to conclude a war. Tell me again who won the war?
The treaty came 4 years after the war, it was a territorial reallignemnt not an actual treaty to conclude a war and you didn't answer the question, move a few hundred to save millions - yes or no.
No arguments there. Their problem was sacrificing their citizens rights for the rights of the enemy, who apparently were trounced in the war (well, I don't know about that - everyone seems to think so, but is there proof?).
The war was a cake walk, we don't even hear about it as it is going on.
For that occassion, yes. But when Picard and Necheyev are sitting in his ready room on the -D they start talking about this matter and both seem to be somewhat dubious of the Cardassian claims. It's not much, but it does show that both of them have doubts and suspicions. (ref. "Pre-Emptive Strike")
Bt that doesn't exactly prove anything and it is hard for the Feds to crack down on the cardies when they are under attack, not to mention we don't hear about Cardassian colonists attacking the Maquis after that it seems to become the Maquis on the offensive and eventually they end up fighting the Cardassians directly.
Those were the colonist's interests - the Maquis were the colonists.
Yes and the IRA has the best interest of the average Northern Irish Catholic at heart.
The Maquis wanted revenge the colonist wished to live in peace, allow me to quote those touched by the divine
SISKO
You know what I see out there,
Mister Eddington? I see victims...
SISKO (Cont'd)
... but not of Cardassia or the
Federation. Victims of you. The
Maquis. You've sold these people
the dream that one day, they can
go back to those farms and homes
and schools -- but you know they
never can.
Sisko turns around, faces him directly.
SISKO
(continuing)
And the longer you keep that hope
alive, the longer they're going to
suffer.
Their organisation, and their hopes and goals and decisions. Hudson represented them. The Maquis don't exist in a vaccum. If you killed them all, there would still be hundreds of thousands of colonists who would still hold a grudge.
Yes but those colonist wanted peace the Maquis wanted war, can you not see that the Maquis betrayed them, either knowingly or through their own pig headiness.
But they WILL pursue, and prosecute those who even commit the henious crime of even supplying them with food and medical supplies 
