Nope. We will consider all ships HOSTILE. That's hostile to us. We didn't say
we would instantly declare ourselves hostile to them.
>in Andrew's (member of Borg) response to this thread on 2/28 he said, in part:
>====================================================
>The problem is that in a fluid fast moving war it is difficult to
>find out all the ID's of the enemy. So if you are zooming around at
>high speed trying to find the enemy and engage him you have a
>problem. The easiest way is to just set HOSTILE ALL and put neutral
>orders in for the neutral forces you know of.
>====================================================
>
>By their own admission they intend to issue Hostile All orders because "it's
>easier" then taking the time to gather intel on your intended targets and
>avoid collateral damage. A proper miltary campaign would take the time to
>find out who their targets were rather than run around with Hostile All orders
>in place.
No and No. Andrew has pointed out that issuing "hostile all" is the easiest
method and that's all. To date, this is not a tactic we have used in neutral
territory. His points are obvious to the experienced but I believe he has
provided them for the uninitiated. It certainly remains an option and we would
like to let others know that if worse comes to worse we may employ extreme
methods. When one is dealing with their own survival, I wouldn't consider it
unusual at all. As for what one would do in a proper military campaign... well
both the LoTC and ourselves could tell the inexperienced Seehawk that taking
your time to find out who all of your targets are isn't how it works. This is a
very dynamic environment and you don't always have months to plan and you sure
don't have months to react. You expend as much effort as possible to identify
the best targets because it makes tactical sense but unless you're engaging a
bunch of half-wits, you'll never know exactly who and what lies around the
corner. Surprise is the biggest advantage and we respect the fact the our
adversaries will use it to the maximum! When the Seehawk has put "a proper
military campaign" under his belt, I'm sure he will change his tune.
>I'm not attempting to pass judgment on the tactic (well, maybe a little
>judgement) but telling the world you're issuing Hostile All orders in a region
>is tantamount to saying "stay out". It's an attempt by the agressor to lay
>the blame for mistakes on the defender.
We didn't have to say anything! There is a war out there and we're letting you
know about it! We're saying "stay out" if you're uncomfortable with the
fighting and don't wish to identify yourself. At least you can make an informed
decision!
>It's like blaming a mugging victim in New York city for getting mugged. "Hey,
>you KNEW there was crime in NYC...why did you go there?
Not a well thought out analogy. Most people who go to New York don't expect to
get mugged and in fact they don't. How about taking a vacation to Iraq during
Desert Storm? On a planet of billions, how many people did that? Get real.
>Luckily neither I or TIB have any shipping in the region, but I can say that
>if my ship fell victim to an overly agressive military vessel that couldn't be
>bothered to do it's homework I would probably be a little ticked myself.
It's highly unlikely that we will ever attack anyone other than a member of the
Lords of the Crown. For those of you who are overly sensitive to our efforts to
reduce those odds even further, our apologies, but we have to provide the
information to those who will benefit from it.
Jay