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What would have happened if it was the Klingons occupying Bajor instead of the Cardassians?

Lord MJ wrote:What would have happened if it was the Klingons occupying Bajor instead of the Cardassians?

Going by Worf's comments about the Klingon intended treatment of Cardassia Prime (harking back to the "old ways" of the Klingon Empire), they would have probably executed the Kai and every Vedek they could lay hands on, and then installed an Imperial Governor.

If the Bajorans resisted unduly, strafing runs against Bajoran settlements by Birds of Prey should have followed. The Klingons bombarded each other the same way in their own capital city when it came down to civil war, so they'd not likely be hesitant about treating inferior aliens the same way.

If the Klingons should for some reason have found themselves withdrawing from the planet, a Klingon ecosphere-destroying chain reaction weapon like that used in the TNG episode The Chase would have probably been deployed, just to make a point. Klingons are not known to be hesitant about genocide when it suits their purposes, or wiping out an entire planetary ecosystem complete with a proto-humanoid species that, following standard Trek assumptions, would have eventually evolved into a sapient, technology-using species.

The Federation would tap them on the shoulder and ask 'what the fuck are they doing?'

How will they has access to Bajor?

Aya wrote:The Federation would tap them on the shoulder and ask 'what the fuck are they doing?'

Like they did with the Cardies when they took over Bajor?

Lord Pounder wrote:

Aya wrote:The Federation would tap them on the shoulder and ask 'what the fuck are they doing?'

Like they did with the Cardies when they took over Bajor?

I understand where Aya is coming from since the Klingons are supposedly of higher relation then the Cardassian, but his answer isn't really valid to the question asked.

As for my answer, likely more brutally.

First they would kill all the religous leaders and probably scrap or try to scrap the variety of Orbs, or take them back to Qu'Nos.

They'd likely take erbellion with more permanent methods then the Cardassian, but that depends on if the situations are the same(ie...are they there for the same reason or is Bajor just something they are occupying as a prize for the hell of it)

Aya wrote:The Federation would tap them on the shoulder and ask 'what the fuck are they doing?'

The Federation doesn't do that, though. As long as the Klingons conquered the planet fair and square, and the planet isn't aligned with the Federation on some level, such as in a defense alliance, whatever the Klingons do on Bajor is an internal matter of the Klingon Empire and thus no skin off the Federation's nose under the Prime Directive. How else, after all, can the Federation justify its relatively warm relations with the Klingon Empire (which by TNG is largely composed of genocidal thugs with bad taste in opera)?

If the KE has just half the number of member worlds of the Federation, that should mean about seventy or so technologically advanced non-Klingon homeworlds in the KE. Voluntary join-ups are unlikely, except in the sense of it being better to pretend to join voluntarily as opposed to letting the fleet in orbit take out every major population center. Of course, not being bound by the Prime Directive, the Klingons might just have an empire composed mainly of primitive worlds that they mugged and then set up Klingon colonies on.

Grand Admiral Thrawn wrote:How will they has access to Bajor?

DS9 pretty solidly indicates that the Cardassian and Klingon Empire borders are both just a hop, skip and jump away from Bajor. Klingon fleets managed to get to DS9 without apparently having to pass through Cardassian or Federation space, so if the Klingons had seen a need to occupy Bajor they could have done so.

Lord MJ wrote:What would have happened if it was the Klingons occupying Bajor instead of the Cardassians?

Occupation by barbarians instead of facists. The Klingoffs would probably enjoy the constant fighting, Bajor might become a Klingoff amusement park.

Patrick Ogaard wrote:

Lord MJ wrote:What would have happened if it was the Klingons occupying Bajor instead of the Cardassians?

Going by Worf's comments about the Klingon intended treatment of Cardassia Prime (harking back to the "old ways" of the Klingon Empire), they would have probably executed the Kai and every Vedek they could lay hands on, and then installed an Imperial Governor.

If the Bajorans resisted unduly, strafing runs against Bajoran settlements by Birds of Prey should have followed. The Klingons bombarded each other the same way in their own capital city when it came down to civil war, so they'd not likely be hesitant about treating inferior aliens the same way.

If the Klingons should for some reason have found themselves withdrawing from the planet, a Klingon ecosphere-destroying chain reaction weapon like that used in the TNG episode The Chase would have probably been deployed, just to make a point. Klingons are not known to be hesitant about genocide when it suits their purposes, or wiping out an entire planetary ecosystem complete with a proto-humanoid species that, following standard Trek assumptions, would have eventually evolved into a sapient, technology-using species.

Watching the Klingons slaughter the Kai would have been amusing...I couldn't stand her.

Here's what really would have happened.

Klingons get on Bajor. The Kai tries to make herself look brave for politics, but then the Klingons don't play along and simply nuke her (Borsk Fey'lya for Star Trek). They run around slaughtering the religious leaders, but then the religious bajorans due what they did with the Cardassians- get big guns and become armed religious bajorans, and go around slaughtering klingons.

Since Klingons have a very bad grasp of tactics, they will get spanked repeatedly by terrorists as they charge headfirst into traps weilding bat'leths. Finally, Gowron gets annoyed and orders an orbital bombardment. 24 hours later, Bajor is a desolate wasteland. But not before the Klingons steal a bunch of bajoran wine.

Praxis wrote:
Watching the Klingons slaughter the Kai would have been amusing...I couldn't stand her.

Winn, yes. But Opaka was good.

Steve wrote:

Praxis wrote:
Watching the Klingons slaughter the Kai would have been amusing...I couldn't stand her.

Winn, yes. But Opaka was good.

Opaka was good, but she ended up trapped on that planet in the Gamma quadrant in the first season. But Winn should be slowly dismembered by Klingons.

Praxis wrote: Opaka was good, but she ended up trapped on that planet in the Gamma quadrant in the first season. But Winn should be slowly dismembered by Klingons.

Which would've been infinitely better than having to sit through her godawful psuedo-romance with Evil Dukat...

Patrick Ogaard wrote:

Aya wrote:The Federation would tap them on the shoulder and ask 'what the fuck are they doing?'

The Federation doesn't do that, though.

Yes actually, it does - "Way of the Warrior".

Indeed, they did more than merely ask what the fuck the Klingons thought they were doing, the Federation council CONDEMNED the attack and Sisko (perhaps on his own initiative) betrayed their 'allies' to the Cardassians - who had overthrew their military dicatatorship and embraced an implied democratic society lead by the Detapa council.

As long as the Klingons conquered the planet fair and square,

Excuse me? How do you conquer a planet 'fair and square'? By informing them of your intentions through a declaration of war? Too bad the Klingons thought that was too much bother for them with their sneak attack on Cardassian territory...

and the planet isn't aligned with the Federation on some level, such as in a defense alliance, whatever the Klingons do on Bajor is an internal matter of the Klingon Empire and thus no skin off the Federation's nose under the Prime Directive. How else, after all, can the Federation justify its relatively warm relations with the Klingon Empire (which by TNG is largely composed of genocidal thugs with bad taste in opera)?

Prove that the Klingons, when they were under the Treaty of Alliance with the Federation, were a bunch of 'genocidal' thugs. There's a difference between unleashing a WMD that kills a biosphere which is largely uninhabited and doing the same thing to a sapient species.

Indeed, I would go so far to suggest that they were going through some sort of internal social change on the span of decades and were too busy fighting amongst themselves to really bother conquering other worlds (something which is strongly implied in all of TNG, such as the episode "Heart of Glory", and comes to fruition with the two-parter "Redemption"). Once Chancellor Gowron consolidated his power and restored stability to the Empire, the Klingons no longer had a target to fight so they wanted a 'return to the old ways' - hence how Martok-changeling duped Gowron into invading Cardassia.

The point about how the Federation would leave Bajor alone if it became a member of the Empire through any other means other than conquest is well taken, however. As to what the TNG level Klingons would do to Occupied Bajor? I see a lack in subtlety but no more brutality. The Cardassians weren't particularly gentle to begin with; they simple combined the scalpel with the club, as it were.

I think the big question is that if the Klingons occupied Bajor instead of the Cardassians, would the Bajoran Resistance Forces be able to successfully drive the Klingons off of Bajor like they did the Cardassians.

Likely, yes. Simply because the Cardassians were beaten tactically, and Klingons have even less tactical knowledge than Cardassians. The Bajorans would have no trouble luring them into a trap, in which they'd plunge headfirst with Bat'leths.

However, the Klingons wouldn't leave like the Cardies did, but instead start razing cities.

Praxis wrote:Opaka was good, but she ended up trapped on that planet in the Gamma quadrant in the first season. But Winn should be slowly dismembered by Klingons.

Winn should have been arrested by the Federation after her obvious sponsorship of terrorist attacks on a Federation space station.

Praxis wrote:Likely, yes. Simply because the Cardassians were beaten tactically, and Klingons have even less tactical knowledge than Cardassians. The Bajorans would have no trouble luring them into a trap, in which they'd plunge headfirst with Bat'leths.

However, the Klingons wouldn't leave like the Cardies did, but instead start razing cities.

Klingons have terrible grasp of infantry tactics, but they're pretty good at hunting, skulking around behind cloaking devices, and ambushing opponents. The ludicrous Klingon preference for bladed weapons in situations where ranged weapons would be one thing, the demonstrated Klingon ability in ambush tactics and the wholesale slaughter of hostages until the enemy gives up is quite another.

Also, I don't think the Cardassians were really beaten tactically. Instead, it seems that the Bajorans mostly played for time, and eventually the Cardassians on the home front got sick of the whole mess and the government decided to cut its losses. The Cardassian forces also don't seem to have been well supported and supplied, and inexplicably held back when it came to monasteries.

Gil Hamilton wrote:

Praxis wrote:Opaka was good, but she ended up trapped on that planet in the Gamma quadrant in the first season. But Winn should be slowly dismembered by Klingons.

Winn should have been arrested by the Federation after her obvious sponsorship of terrorist attacks on a Federation space station.

Winn was a Vedek, apparently a member of the quasi-governmental Vedek Assembly. Some version of parliamentary immunity probably would have applied, and the arrest and trial of a Vedek by the Federation would - regardless of how many Bajorans detested her how much - have inevitably resulted in the Federation being tossed off DS9. Going to Bajor itself and abducting Winn from sovereign Bajoran territory would have been even worse than arresting her on the station. For that matter, a big part of the attraction of DS9 was supposed to be that it was operated under Bajoran law, probably with a SOFA covering Starfleet personnel and other Federation citizens.

There's no way direct action against Winn could have worked out well for the Federation.

Gil Hamilton wrote:

Praxis wrote:Opaka was good, but she ended up trapped on that planet in the Gamma quadrant in the first season. But Winn should be slowly dismembered by Klingons.

Winn should have been arrested by the Federation after her obvious sponsorship of terrorist attacks on a Federation space station.

The station is legally Bajoran. The Federation just runs it.

Stofsk wrote:Yes actually, it does - "Way of the Warrior".

Indeed, they did more than merely ask what the fuck the Klingons thought they were doing, the Federation council CONDEMNED the attack and Sisko (perhaps on his own initiative) betrayed their 'allies' to the Cardassians - who had overthrew their military dicatatorship and embraced an implied democratic society lead by the Detapa council.

Patrick Ogaard wrote:Diplomatic condemnation is cheap, and meaningless unless it actually leads to action or the threat of action. The only reason the Federation Council could even act was because it had begun propping up the new Cardassian regime, such as with economic aid. As for Sisko's action, it was a blatant (and probably criminal) violation of the alliance, one that led directly to the deaths of many still-allied Klingon warriors, and considering the fact that Sisko had no insurmountable qualms about committing a whole string of felonies and treasonous acts, as well as covering for several murders, all in an effort to bring the Romulans into the war against the Dominion, it's likely he had no authorization from higher headquarters to give away the Klingon attack plans.

TNG, The Last Outpost
DATA: They should add also that Starfleet has refused to prevent several civilizations from falling; we have sometimes let the violent and strong overcome the weak...
LETEK: They admit their crimes! Hear them; they admit the evil ...

The Federation was always noticeably circumspect in its criticism of the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor, treating it as an internal matter of the Cardassians. Had the Klingons followed the same steps as the Cardassians, from initial claim to formal annexation followed by occupation in force, the Federation would have been equally circumspect.

Stofsk wrote:Excuse me? How do you conquer a planet 'fair and square'? By informing them of your intentions through a declaration of war? Too bad the Klingons thought that was too much bother for them with their sneak attack on Cardassian territory...

Patrick Ogaard wrote:The simplest way to conquer a planet fair and square is to carry out an annexation and make it stick by making a few client states and allies recognize the annexation as legitimate.

I don't know if the Bajorans were, at the time of the Occupation, even considered a warp-capable civilization that could have legitimately appealed to the Federation for assistance. What happens to pre-warp civilizations, so long as Starfleet itself doesn't "interfere" with their natural development, is no concern of the Federation. No official efforts were made in the TNG episode Homeward to save any of the natives who were facing painful extinction, with Picard even being shocked at the suggestion that an effort be made to save at least a few. Similarly, in Pen Pals, it was ultimately only a direct appeal to Picard's emotion, a plaintive cry for help from a little girl, that swayed Picard to violate the Prime Directive and take action to prevent the planet of a pre-warp civilization shaking itself apart.

Stofsk wrote:Prove that the Klingons, when they were under the Treaty of Alliance with the Federation, were a bunch of 'genocidal' thugs. There's a difference between unleashing a WMD that kills a biosphere which is largely uninhabited and doing the same thing to a sapient species.

Patrick Ogaard wrote:That's a bit of a false dilemma. The Khitomer Accords are unlikely to extend to dictating to the Klingons how they are to deal with minor worlds outside the Federation sphere of influence (which Bajor would have been in 2328, when the world was claimed as Cardassian territory, in 2339 when the Cardassians annexed Bajor). It wasn't until the Cardassians withdrew that the Federation stepped into the resulting power vacuum with completely inadequate forces. The Prime Directive keeps the Federation from interfering in the affairs of worlds outside the Federation's territory. Anything happening after the annexation of 2339 would be purely an internal affair of the Klingon Empire.

To quote Picard regarding a Kriosian rebellion against being a Klingon colony:
TNG, The Mind's Eye
PICARD: I can assure you, Ambassador, the Federation would never interfere with the Empire's internal affairs.
KELL: Let us hope not. Such interference would call into question the very basis of our alliance.

Also, the "old practices" of the Klingons dictated the execution of "all government officials." The Bajorans were IIRC divided into castes by their d'jarras before the Occupation, so that the government officials, including the religious hierarchy, would have been born into their positions. The mass execution of a group defined primarily by circumstances of birth fits the formal definition of genocide. Pretty much by definition, the Klingon "old practices" as they would be applied to Bajor have to involve genocide.

Genocide is also inherent to Klingon society. One House wiping out another House, with House membership based primarily on bloodlines, fits at least one definition of genocide. That the Klingons also did not hesitate to destroy the world of origin of tribbles, and that one of their ship captains would casually destroy an entire class M world, complete with an entire genus of proto-hominids (any species of which could possibly have been sapient without yet having developed cultural artifacts), just to deny rivals the chance to get a piece to a possible puzzle, just further documents their casual attitude toward mass killing.

Stofsk wrote:Indeed, I would go so far to suggest that they were going through some sort of internal social change on the span of decades and were too busy fighting amongst themselves to really bother conquering other worlds (something which is strongly implied in all of TNG, such as the episode "Heart of Glory", and comes to fruition with the two-parter "Redemption"). Once Chancellor Gowron consolidated his power and restored stability to the Empire, the Klingons no longer had a target to fight so they wanted a 'return to the old ways' - hence how Martok-changeling duped Gowron into invading Cardassia.

The point about how the Federation would leave Bajor alone if it became a member of the Empire through any other means other than conquest is well taken, however. As to what the TNG level Klingons would do to Occupied Bajor? I see a lack in subtlety but no more brutality. The Cardassians weren't particularly gentle to begin with; they simple combined the scalpel with the club, as it were.

Patrick Ogaard wrote: That the Klingons were going through some major internal upheaval during that period is undeniable based on the evidence. My point is just that the Klingons would have cut to the chase, conducting a massive decapitation strike against the Bajoran government and religious hierarchy right at the outset, as opposed to the half-hearted attempts of the Cardassians. The Cardassians were, in part, hobbled by their implied prehistoric cultural and possibly genetic ties to the Bajorans, as well as by their need to feel civilized about what they were doing. The Klingons, on the other hand, would have seen the brutal crushing of all opposition and the execution of all who oppose them as the only possible civilized response. Armed forces whose primary means of promotion through the ranks, and whose idea of nonjudicial punishment, consists of a disruptor burst to the center of mass or a knife through the gizzard are unlikely to be more lenient to a bunch of natives who were conquered dead to rights.

Of course, that treatment would likely have prompted the Bajorans to engage in rebellion much faster, just as soon as the shock of seeing the Kai's head lopped off by a well-executed batleth strike wears off. However, the Klingon propensity for mass executions is established as being well entrenched even in the comparatively civilized Klingons of TOS (what with Kor ordering mass executions of Organians to force Kirk and Spock into the open).

Ultimately, though, the Bajorans would likely not have managed to establish as many offworld refugee camps. Any camps that could be reached by a cloaked BoP would have quickly been wiped off the map, reducing the ability of the Bajorans to establish a paramilitary presence to harry the Klingons.

We also know that the smaller BoP versions can operate in planetary atmospheres while cloaked, which would make it much harder for the Bajoran resistance to operate effectively. No telling if there's a BoP hovering over the depot…

Then there's the fact that the Cardassians largely respected, at least in a lip service way, the sanctity of Bajoran monasteries, providing small groups of rebels with potential safe haven and places to exchange information between cells. The Klingon reaction would likely be implementation of Commander Kor's methods: execute 200 civilians if the rebels don't turn themselves in, repeat as necessary until rebels turn themselves in or it becomes necessary to ship in new civilians and start over. Cardassians, however erroneously, think of themselves as highly civilized, refined people in a hard world, and have to justify or cover up their atrocities. Klingons write operas about their atrocities and can't quite figure out what kind of barbarians would complain about the slaughter of wounded combatants in field hospitals, or the killing helpless prisoners (as Worf was expected to do with Toral, the weenie offspring of Duras).

Patrick Ogaard wrote:Diplomatic condemnation is cheap, and meaningless unless it actually leads to action or the threat of action. The only reason the Federation Council could even act was because it had begun propping up the new Cardassian regime, such as with economic aid. As for Sisko's action, it was a blatant (and probably criminal) violation of the alliance, one that led directly to the deaths of many still-allied Klingon warriors, and considering the fact that Sisko had no insurmountable qualms about committing a whole string of felonies and treasonous acts, as well as covering for several murders, all in an effort to bring the Romulans into the war against the Dominion, it's likely he had no authorization from higher headquarters to give away the Klingon attack plans.

I don't disagree about Sisko's actions being criminal; but what the fuck is this TREASON charge? When did Sisko aid the Cardassian Central Command WITHOUT strict orders from his superiors (Ref. "The Maquis")? How do we know the Cardassian Detapa Council was considered an ENEMY STATE? Betraying an ally who's decided on unilateral action is one thing; but treason is a whole kettle of fish.

Mentioning "In The Pale Moonlight" is a bit of a Red Herring however. He acted alone then, and that was made clear as a plot development. And his activities weren't treasonous, given they helped his nation with the inclusion of the RSE into the fight.

However, when you say "Diplomatic condemnation is cheap and meaningless UNLESS IT LEADS TO ACTION OR THREAT OF ACTION" I ONCE AGAIN point to "Way of the Warrior" where a Starfleet Task Force lead by (presumably) the War-GCS USS Venture and numerous escorts was dispatched to DS9 to reinforce it from attack, which had also received a major upgrade to it's defensive capabilities. The Federation council condemned the Klingon attack, and deployed at least one battlegroup to the nearest Klingon line as a defensive measure.

Remember, your ORIGINAL point that I was responding to:

Patrick Ogaard wrote:

Aya wrote:The Federation would tap them on the shoulder and ask 'what the fuck are they doing?'

The Federation doesn't do that, though.

I bolded it in case you forgot. The Federation DOES do something, it does MORE than something, whereas you implied in THAT statement and in the one above that it does nothing.

TNG, The Last Outpost
DATA: They should add also that Starfleet has refused to prevent several civilizations from falling; we have sometimes let the violent and strong overcome the weak...
LETEK: They admit their crimes! Hear them; they admit the evil...

Good quote, and shows... not a lot. Unfortunately, we don't know WHO the "violent and strong" are, nor do we know WHO "the weak" were. Data doesn't mention it. As a quote it is strongly implicatory, but doesn't say a whole hell of a lot.

The Federation was always noticeably circumspect in its criticism of the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor, treating it as an internal matter of the Cardassians.

They were at war with the Cardassians, they NEVER had a Treaty of Alliance with them the same way they had with the Klingons.

Had the Klingons followed the same steps as the Cardassians, from initial claim to formal annexation followed by occupation in force, the Federation would have been equally circumspect.

Unfortunately you haven't provided proof. Like I said, the Federation didn't criticise the Cardassians because they were too busy fighting them on places like Setlik III where the Cardies were committing atrocities against their own citizens (Ref. "The Wounded").

Patrick Ogaard wrote:The simplest way to conquer a planet fair and square is to carry out an annexation and make it stick by making a few client states and allies recognize the annexation as legitimate.

*snip descriptions of Federation PD policy*

If the Klingons did such a thing then it's conceivable the Federation would go along with it. But now we go from "conquering and occupying" to the term "annexation." Will the Bajorans consider it an occupation and begin terrorism campaigns? Will the Bajorans accept Klingon rule, which as I recall from TOS, was 'brutal but fair'?

Patrick Ogaard wrote:

Stofsk wrote:Prove that the Klingons, when they were under the Treaty of Alliance with the Federation, were a bunch of 'genocidal' thugs. There's a difference between unleashing a WMD that kills a biosphere which is largely uninhabited and doing the same thing to a sapient species.

That's a bit of a false dilemma. *snip Khitomer accords etc*

How is it a false dilemma when YOU CLAIMED the Klingons were a bunch of "Genocidal Thugs" and I was asking you to PROVE that? When and where have they wiped out a SAPIENT species (they wiped out the Tribbles, but they don't count)?

I don't deny the Klingons are a bunch of arseholes and thugs, but I want proof they're genocidal. I know they had at least one demonstrated ability to destroy the ecosphere of an entire planet, but that proves nothing: Starfleet was capable of doing similar level destruction in Kirk's day with a General Order 24 bombardment (Ref. "A Taste of Armageddon") which may have something to do with subjecting the planet to lethal neutron radiation (Ref. "Where No Man Has Gone Before").

I agree the Klingons have the capability, so does the Federation; probably the Romulans as well. Maybe the Cardassians. I want to know if the Klingons have done this before and WOULD do it again, after being made to withdraw.

To quote Picard regarding a Kriosian rebellion against being a Klingon colony:
TNG, The Mind's Eye
PICARD: I can assure you, Ambassador, the Federation would never interfere with the Empire's internal affairs.
KELL: Let us hope not. Such interference would call into question the very basis of our alliance.

Words.

How about Picard's (and the Federation's) interference during the Rite to Succession? How about Picard's (and the Federation's) interference during the Klingon Civil War, which ended up being crucial to Gowron's Loyalists? How about Sisko's (and the Federation's) interference in the Klingon's pre-emptive strike and invasion of Cardassian space?

Picard's a diplomat, and he would say anything in order to downplay the matter. The fact remains the Federation knowingly caused interference in the Klingon Empire, but it was indirect. That doesn't suddenly absolve them of all accountability. Nor does it state "Well, the Federation NEVER interferes due to the PD" - that's a black/white, on/off view of the matter.

Also, the "old practices" of the Klingons dictated the execution of "all government officials."

Reference please.

Genocide is also inherent to Klingon society. One House wiping out another House, with House membership based primarily on bloodlines, fits at least one definition of genocide.

You're getting somewhere with this...

That the Klingons also did not hesitate to destroy the world of origin of tribbles, and that one of their ship captains would casually destroy an entire class M world, complete with an entire genus of proto-hominids (any species of which could possibly have been sapient without yet having developed cultural artifacts), just to deny rivals the chance to get a piece to a possible puzzle, just further documents their casual attitude toward mass killing.

The Tribbles weren't sapient (at least no evidence has been put forward to that effect).

As to the incident in "The Chase" I believe the word was classified as 'uninhabited' even though it was an M-class planet.

And I already concede their attitude towards 'mass killings' - the Klingons are brutal and thuggish, it's the genocidal point I'm having difficulty with (though I have to wonder why I'm even bothering to defend them... )

Patrick Ogaard wrote:*snip rather convincing argument of Klingon brutality and speculation on their possible tactics given an attempt at Bajoran uprising*

Sorry for snipping it - I agree with the majority of what you said.

My only problem is that the Federation probably would not go along with it. The quote from "The Mind's Eye" is a good one, but we have no details from said "Kriosian Rebellion" nor standard Klingon practices at the time.

[RANT] Why the fuck did the writers flip flop with the Klingons anyway? They're supposed to be allies but act like a bunch of savage arseholes. They go from being the principle adversaries during DS9's fourth season to the middle half of it's fifth season, where the writers do a turnabout. Wouldn't it have been better had the Klingons and Jem'hadar allied with each other? Dukat would have still been an 'enemy-ally' without his sudden and bullshit "Oh I've been in secret conferences with the Dominion all this time and you had no idea, jokes on you LOL" betrayal, the Cardassians, Bajorans, and Maquis would have to become friends, and the Klingons would pay for their crimes (invading a nation that was kicking off a military dicatatorship and embracing democracy, attacking a longtime ally and declaring war on it unrepentantly - I don't recall Gowron or anyone basically saying "Hey we're sorry about that"). Fucking writers...

The notion that the Klingons are tactically weaker than the Cardassians seems difficult to support in light of the fact that they kicked the Cardassians' asses.

They kicked the Cardies in an all out attack. That implies either:
1) Better ships/weapons
2) Better in a straight fight
3) Both

It does not imply that they are good at fighting terrorists in a guerilla war. Quite the opposite- Klingons charge in head first, which is stupid in a terrorist war.