Most certainly. But his actions, if left unchecked would have reignited the war anyway. Recall, the Cardassians came in guns blazing on the Enterprise. The Federation was also in no state to fight a war, especially with the losses after the Borg.
Maxwell’s actions did, however, do two invaluable things. First, it blew up the Cardassian timetable and second, it forced the Federation to pay attention.
So you could say that Maxwell did indeed save the Federation (and to a lesse extent the Cardassian Empire) from all our war. And all it cost was several hundred Cardassian lives and the career of one Starfleet officer. I don’t know about you, but I’d call that a bargain.
I’ve argued it before and I’ll argue it to the bitter end, but the Cardassians were never a major power, despite how much they like to brag they were. The breadth of the Federation Cardassian War was never outright explained but it’s been suggested it was mostly border wars and skirmishes with the occasional outbreak (Setlik III). It’s been outright stated that Cardassia is a very resource-poor planet, where they had to plunder their own museums to pay for the war effort, and they have to occupy and strip-mine peaceful planets like Bajor. In one of the alternate timelines from Parallels there was a scenario where the Bajorans were able to completely overthrow the Cardassian Empire leading to its collapse and them joining the Federation.
When the Klingons were duped into attacking them as a precursor to the Dominion War, the Cardies had to hide behind the Federation for protection. Then when they turned coat and joined the Dominion they were used merely as cannon fodder.
Back to my point, they were trying to goad the Federation back into the war but likely to get Starfleet to throw the first punch. This would have made them not appear as the aggressors and paint the federation as the villains to either damage their reputation and/or draw other groups to their side. Even during the first war, Starfleet was likely pulling their punches just to avoid political backlash and fallout, and likely why they were a little too accommodating with the treaty and DMZ.
I dunno if this counts but Captain Benjamin Maxwell. He was right, but the way he went about it was horribly wrong. War and PTSD sucks.
He was right, but if he didn’t do what he did the Cardies could have reignited the war.
Most certainly. But his actions, if left unchecked would have reignited the war anyway. Recall, the Cardassians came in guns blazing on the Enterprise. The Federation was also in no state to fight a war, especially with the losses after the Borg.
Maxwell’s actions did, however, do two invaluable things. First, it blew up the Cardassian timetable and second, it forced the Federation to pay attention.
So you could say that Maxwell did indeed save the Federation (and to a lesse extent the Cardassian Empire) from all our war. And all it cost was several hundred Cardassian lives and the career of one Starfleet officer. I don’t know about you, but I’d call that a bargain.
I’ve argued it before and I’ll argue it to the bitter end, but the Cardassians were never a major power, despite how much they like to brag they were. The breadth of the Federation Cardassian War was never outright explained but it’s been suggested it was mostly border wars and skirmishes with the occasional outbreak (Setlik III). It’s been outright stated that Cardassia is a very resource-poor planet, where they had to plunder their own museums to pay for the war effort, and they have to occupy and strip-mine peaceful planets like Bajor. In one of the alternate timelines from Parallels there was a scenario where the Bajorans were able to completely overthrow the Cardassian Empire leading to its collapse and them joining the Federation.
When the Klingons were duped into attacking them as a precursor to the Dominion War, the Cardies had to hide behind the Federation for protection. Then when they turned coat and joined the Dominion they were used merely as cannon fodder.
Back to my point, they were trying to goad the Federation back into the war but likely to get Starfleet to throw the first punch. This would have made them not appear as the aggressors and paint the federation as the villains to either damage their reputation and/or draw other groups to their side. Even during the first war, Starfleet was likely pulling their punches just to avoid political backlash and fallout, and likely why they were a little too accommodating with the treaty and DMZ.