posted
Not to mention that the Maquis were probably more-or-less vindicated when the Feds went to war w/ the Cardassians.
Registered: Mar 1999
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Had Dukat not marched in with an army and overthrown the lawful government, the actions of the Maquis could have provoked a war between the Cardassians and the Federation. Many members of the Maquis were traitors to the Federation and Starfleet.
Or would you like to see Eddington get his commission back?
Assuming he hadn't died, would you think Eddington being allowed back into Starfleet "okay" or even "right"? Look at what he did! You don't let traitors back in -- and that's what Chakotay and Torres are: traitors.
posted
I agree with you, Malnurtured Snay, and I think what you suggest is what I said in my post regarding the Maquis. I think they redeemed themselves for whatever crimes they may have committed, so any "punishment" would be punitive and a waste of resources. However, they did choose to betray Starfleet, so they should not be allowed to serve in it once their service (aboard "Voyager") is no longer needed.
Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
My point is that the Maquis fouhgt the Cardassians, and everyone disliked them for it. But then the Cardassians became "the enemy", so people probably started thinking the Maquis were good.
Just like if, a few years ago, a bunch of US Americans had gone and tried to start a war w/ Afghanistan, they would have been "traitors". But then, today, people here would see them differently because Afghanistan has become "the enemy".
posted
Uh, no, the Taliban has become the enemy. The average Afghani has nothing to do with it.
If a bunch of mercenary Americans went out and started killing average Afghanis and the Taliban responded with military force, and then the U.S. went in to counter-attack the Taliban and we got dragged into a war, would you blame the Taliban or the mercenary Americans who went over there in the first place?
posted
That's rather arbitrary in any case. The connection between the Taliban and the terrorist strike is tenuous at best - obviously, the "resources" or "support" they could have provided were not significant to the success of the strike. But they are certainly an easier target than the terrorists themselves (like CaptainMike put it, "advanced decomposition" presents a difficulty in this respect), and they are a good enemy in many respects - no redeeming qualities, not much in the way of resistance or allies, and very, very far away from the rest of the world.
But the redeeming of people who in retrospect turn out to be "my enemy's enemy" is not typical of world politics at all. "Once evil, always evil" is far more typical. It does not help Stalinists that they fought the Nazis, or the Nazis that they fought the Communists, or the Communists that they fought the Czarists, or the Czarists that they fought the Prussians, Napoleon and the Turkish. The Northern Alliance is not going to get points of favor just because they happened to fight on the side of the good guys, not if they are back to their pre-Taliban antics. Similarly, I'd think that if UFP were Earth, the ex-Maquis would have to stop being Maquis and would have to denounce their former beliefs in order to get redeemed.
(A separate case is the elevation of a former enemy to the status of a respectable opponent. People like Rommel enjoy post-defeat/posthumous respect not so much because they might have opposed evil, but because they fought well and thus cannot have been all bad - else how come we didn't beat them more easily? The Maquis would not seem to fit these criteria at all.)
posted
As was mentioned before, though, Chakotay resigned from Starfleet and Torres resigned from the Academy. Technically, according to what Starfleet's policy seems to be, they are not traitors. They legally left Starfleet and gave up their status as Federation citizens. They did not participate in a war against the Federation since the Maquis were fighting the Cardassians.
As allies of the Cardassians, the Federation was required to try and stop the Maquis...this would have ended when the Cardassians became the enemy.
Oh, and Picard said he was in command of a ship that couldn't have been the Ent-D or the Stargazer when he met Tasha Yar for the first time. To me...that says there must have been another ship in there somewhere.
capped
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posted
Of course, all of the Maquis dont share the similar circumstances. And the arena of public opinion has always been a fickle place, so its very likely Maquis are regarded as heroes regardless of the nature of the beginning of their conflict.
Michael Eddington stole Starfleet property, assaulted Starfleet officers, attacked a Federation starship and nearly caused the deaths of many many Federation people.
He wouldnt be allowed back in
Tom Paris was drummed out of Starfleet, and then afterwards convicted of the crime of joining the Maquis. He served some time. (Which I have to wonder, how much? Kasidy was in pretty deep shit and only served 6 months.. same with Garak when he tried to hijack the Defiant's torpedoes. The Federation isnt a big fan of jail time)
He might have the hardest time getting back in, considering he was very definitely kicked out, but he is a golden boy in that he saved the day a million times and is an admiral's son. Not really fair, but things like that carry some weight.
Torres quit the academy and joined the Maquis. No evidence that she ever considered attacking Federation forces either.
Chakotay resigned his commission and joined. No evidence he ever took action against the Federation either.
-------------------- "Are you worried that your thoughts are not quite.. clear?"
"Uh, no, the Taliban has become the enemy. The average Afghani has nothing to do with it."
Well, no shit. Why do you think I put "enemy" in quotation marks? I'm speaking of public opinion here, not people who actually have any concept of what they're talking about.
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