10 Worst Admirals In Star Trek
1. Cartwright - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Admiral Cartwright shares some traits with several others on this list. He believed peace with the Klingons wasn't possible. He believed that keeping a military presence along the Neutral Zone was key to Starfleet's survival. But his fatal flaw was in conspiring with the Klingons to assassinate both their Chancellor and the Federation President.
Cartwright was used as a stand-in for racism in Trek, a message that was only compounded with the casting of Brock Peters - a man who had so famously played the wrongly-accused Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird.
Fear and loathing led the character to assign Valeris to the Enterprise-A, who in turn conspired with others to kill Gorkon. This could have spelled doomed for the fledgling peace talks between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, if not for a few idealists at the core of both institutions.
Cartwright also displayed his ability to throw even those who he admired to the wolves - including Captain Kirk, a man who had demonstrated that, at least ideologically, he may have agreed with Cartwright on some topics. But with Kirk and McCoy offered as sacrificial lambs, he set the stage for his own demise.
Like others on this list, his own fears were enough to condemn the Federation to eternal war. Thankfully, there were those who were ready to stand up do what was necessary to stop Cartwright's plot from becoming a reality.