Star Trek: 10 Starfleet Decisions With The Most Devastating Consequences
4. Mining The Entrance To The Wormhole
Once Cardassia joined the Dominion, swarms of Jem'hadar vessels began pouring through the Wormhole, fortifying their position in Cardassian space. They had already proven themselves to be deadly enemies without remorse, as a Changeling had attempted to destroy the Bajoran sun, which would have resulted in the joint Federation-Klingon-Romulan task force at Deep Space Nine, along with Bajor itself, being destroyed in the supernova.
With this grim possibility in their minds, along with the knowledge that the Dominion was not going to stay cooped up in Cardassian space, Starfleet, following the recommendation of Captain Sisko, decided to mine the entrance to the Wormhole.
This resulted in a rapid reply from the Dominion and their mouthpiece, the Vorta Weyoun. There was a half-hearted attempt to play each other for fools, but both Sisko and Weyoun knew that War was now certain. The Dominion War led to devastation across the Alpha Quadrant, along with millions of lives lost. While the Dominion and Cardassian forces most certainly bore the brunt of responsibility for this, it was undeniably Starfleet's decision that led to War beginning when it did.