Federation actively supporting Cardassians against the Maquis

[Lonestar]

The Cardassians were not "rough equals", and TNG saw some routine encounters with hostile species where the ships weren't within spitting distance of The 1701-D.

It's understanding why cutting a deal with the Klingons or Romulans is needed, like I said further up though, the Cardassians got rolled so easily by the Klingons there can't really be any doubt they are a second or third rate power.

[Lord Revan]

The Cardassians were not "rough equals", and TNG saw some routine encounters with hostile species where the ships weren't within spitting distance of The 1701-D.

It's understanding why cutting a deal with the Klingons or Romulans is needed, like I said further up though, the Cardassians got rolled so easily by the Klingons there can't really be any doubt they are a second or third rate power.

Cardassians aren't but Klingons and Romulans are. The reason (besides general distaste for war) is that the Romulan Star Empire or Klingon Empire would react to major shifts in the balance of power so the Federation cannot be the interstellar bully towards powers weaker then it because that would risk shifting the balance of power too much in the wrong direction.

The Romulans and Klingons matter even when not directly dealing with them.

[Crazedwraith]

I think The Wounded represents the biggest gulf in Federation and Cardassian capabilities we see. And even there it's an absolute top of the line Federation ship against the cardassian workhorse ship. The crappy Mirandas we most often see doing colony runs would have had much more trouble with them.

The cardassian war seems to have been more skirmishing and striking where starfleet weren't than straight up strength to strength combat and might have drained starfleet disprortionately to how they should have fared on paper.

[Q99]

I wonder what'd happen if the Federation just showed up with some transports immediately off the bat and said, "You're colonists, this is disputed territory, we do not land snatch. Get on, we will take you to a different world, yea it sucks you lose so much work but this is not the land of your ancestors period. Move."

[Lord Revan]

I wonder what'd happen if the Federation just showed up with some transports immediately off the bat and said, "You're colonists, this is disputed territory, we do not land snatch. Get on, we will take you to a different world, yea it sucks you lose so much work but this is not the land of your ancestors period. Move."

wasn't there a TNG episode where they essentially did that?

[Crazedwraith]

I wonder what'd happen if the Federation just showed up with some transports immediately off the bat and said, "You're colonists, this is disputed territory, we do not land snatch. Get on, we will take you to a different world, yea it sucks you lose so much work but this is not the land of your ancestors period. Move."

wasn't there a TNG episode where they essentially did that?

Journey's End. Wesley's last episode. And yeah, they want to move them off. They don't want to go. They eventually agree to stay on the planet and become cardassian citizens as the planet is cardassian territory.