Intergalactic Summit

I agree that a single incident of this severity should not on its own be cause to break such a treaty. That being said, I believe you are misunderstanding Ms. Akahoshi's position. I will try to clarify, and she can correct me if I am wrong.

Let us examine the situation:

- Since the invasion, the Republic has not denied that the invasion force was acting under anything but legitimate orders from their command structure.

-Nor has any effort been made on behalf of the Republic to decry the attack or address it as a tragic mistake.

-There has been no expression of remorse or intent to curb such actions in the future.

The attack occurred nearly two months ago now. Nothing. Broteau was extradited by the Federation as a peace offering two weeks ago. Still, there has been nothing. This is not simply a delay as diplomats choose their words carefully. This is a deliberate and calculated silence.

In short, Mr. Morgan, Ms. Akahoshi does not wish the dissolution of the Republic-Federation alliance due to one incident. She wishes it because there has been no guarantee that this incident will not be repeated in the future.

As I have said before, the Federation has it's own follies. The massive cultural hubris (evidenced in another IGS thread directed at the Caldari) is certainly a well-documented trait. That being said, launching 15 dreadnoughts into your allies territory and engaging their defending forces is simply unacceptable behavior for a sovereign nation that wishes to cultivate healthy alliances. I expected the incident to be addressed by Republic leadership in the fullness of time, but I will fully admit to being wrong in that regard. It would seem that the famous Matari temper is only matched by their stubbornness in refusing to fix what they broke in their rage.

While the original benefits the alliance remain, the Republic leadership seems to think that these benefits are strong enough to offset their behavior, while simultaneously believing that Gallente cultural snobbery justifies it.

The only question is if the Federation government believes the same.

Nothing is broke, alliance is still intact. The Matari forces were bound by honor and duty to act and seek justice on behalf of the Sebiestor and Minmatar people as a whole. The Fed forces were merely an unfortunate obstacle, and the event was unfortunate. The Gallente understand this, which is why the animal was turned over to us.

Given the resounding silence thus far from both the Republic and Federation regarding Colelie, I would have to agree with this statement. Credit where credit is due; the Republic accurately gauged the current political situation with their response (or rather, lack thereof) to the matter. I was wrong in in my assessment that the Republic would have to make reparations to the Federation in order for the alliance to be maintained. The Federation seem content to let the issue drop, the alliance is certainly not under open scrutiny by either government. I am glad I did not reduce my portfolio in the Republic, I may even buy as prices hit a momentary low after many shorted prematurely.

That being said, I do agree with Ms. Akahoshi's assessment. There is a probability of political fallout from these events occurring further down the line, depending on the mood of the Federation populace some time from now. The main question is how long the memory of the Federation public is, which I do not feel qualified to speculate in.

Servicemen are not politicians, they follow a chain of command, they do their duty.

Whatever the state of politics between govts, this much is immutable.

Soldiers don't get to pick their battles.

We actually know almost nothing about the Colelie incident.

1. A Republic fleet jumped into Colelie
Why?
Who ordered it?
What was discussed and/or what deals were made thru political channels?

2. There was a battle
Again, why?
Again, who ordered it?
Why would a fleet commander in a poor tactical situation, choose to engage when he has an opportunity to cyno out, reposition and engage on better terms? (assuming that attacking the Federation is the goal.)

To defend this incident is stupid, but to condemn what you don't understand is equally stupid.

If you think Matari are "back-stabbing loose-cannons", then #1 you don't know Matari #2 that's your own prejudice talking. To treat this incident as anything but a logical chain of events based on backroom dealings we are not privy to, is callous and worse, brainless.

Instead of calling for war, sanctions, recriminations, etc etc you should firstly be pounding your own politicians for what you don't have : information.

Information gathering should be the first step in any crisis, and information is exactly what is missing from this discussion, hence we are down to "but I love the Matari and forgive them."

If you love the Matari then you'll treat them as the logical, honorable, sober human beings they are.

Colelie does not make sense because we don't have information to make sense of it.

Every soldier has a choice whether or not to follow through with a disgraceful, unlawful, and dishonorable order given to them by their commander. But then perhaps the Matari soldiers at Colelie did resent their orders, but were simply incapable of disobeying orders.

So you may be right Cipher: the Republic soldiers may well not have been dishonorable fools. Perhaps they were simply honorable cowards.

We can theorise all we want, but as long as our gouvernments keep kicking eachother under the table, this is getting us nowhere. Join me in telling our gouverments to grow the **** up!

Now that's just petty.

Soldiers in the field don't have time to analyze their engagements. Neither the Republic soldiers in Colelie, nor the Federation soldiers who bombarded Caldari Prime. Even now, 2 months later, there is insufficient information to say whether hostility towards the Federation was justified.

Matari soldiers were present on both sides at Colelie, you should remember that before badmouthing the guarantors of your worthless life.

The eagle has demonstrated its farsightedness, even if it is lacking in assertiveness.