Star Trek: 10 Times The Federation Was The Bad Guy
6. Forsaking The Romulans
Unfortunately, the Federation's panicky response to the devastation of Mars didn't stop at the synth ban...
When the Romulan sun went supernova, it resulted in a catastrophic loss of life and the destruction of their homeworld. Starfleet had committed to a rescue operation to evacuate as many souls as possible and render aid to their people. But the loss of the fleet in the Mars attack scuppered their plans.
Picard and Raffi worked tirelessly to put together a new plan, utilising reserve officers and mothballed ships. It would by no means be the rescue they had originally hoped for, but it was something. But the Federation opted to abandon the Romulan rescue, instead focussing on protecting their own interests in the face of adversity. Even sadder is the implication from Picard that prejudice may well have played a part in the decision.
We're not entirely sure that Picard rage-quitting Starfleet was the answer. Yes, his threat to resign had been a gamble that didn't pay off, but it's always more valuable to have a man like Picard on the inside working for change rather than on the outside...making wine while the galaxy floundered, apparently. But we do agree with his assessment of the situation:
The decision to call off the rescue and to abandon those people we had sworn to save was not just dishonourable, it was downright criminal!