History of Starfleet

[Victory is Life]

Ummm.... OK. And... ?

Ummm...Was just stating something relevant to the discussion that I found interesting...ummmm....

[Captain Seafort]

Ummm...Was just stating something relevant to the discussion that I found interesting...ummmm....

Not relevant actually because, as I said, MB is a repository of non-canon material.

[Lighthawk]

Remember though, S31 isn't an intelligence agency in the same sense of the CIA or the like.

What gives you that idea? In many ways the CIA is the perfect analogy, given their tendency towards action rather than just intelligence gathering.

[/quote]

As I recall, which could be wrong granted, but S31 was brought into existence due to the realization that in order for the Federation to survive, there would be times when the necessary action would be one that violated Federation law and/or moral code. Thus S31 was created unofficially, they are not part of the Federation and thus not bound by it's laws or moral code. And from what we have seen of them, that we can for sure say is their doing, they seem to concern themselves with events that A) threaten the whole of the Federation, and B) that SF itself can't deal with. Your typical intelligence agency, if you can call one typical, generally cares about and gets involved in any threat it finds out about, depending on the scale and available resources of course.

[Victory is Life]

Ummm...Was just stating something relevant to the discussion that I found interesting...ummmm....

Not relevant actually because, as I said, MB is a repository of non-canon material.

I was aware of that, hence my comment of 'interesting that I wasn't the only one who THOUGHTthat.

[Tsukiyumi]

For the record, the Obsidian Order had nothing to do with the Prometheus theft.

[Captain Seafort]

As I recall, which could be wrong granted, but S31 was brought into existence due to the realization that in order for the Federation to survive, there would be times when the necessary action would be one that violated Federation law and/or moral code.

And trying to murder the head of state of a country the US is not at war with is consistent with the law and moral code of the US?

they seem to concern themselves with events that A) threaten the whole of the Federation, and B) that SF itself can't deal with. Your typical intelligence agency, if you can call one typical, generally cares about and gets involved in any threat it finds out about, depending on the scale and available resources of course.

In other words, S31 is a typical intelligence agency. I see no difference between those two definitions.

[Victory is Life]

For the record, the Obsidian Order had nothing to do with the Prometheus theft.

Tal Shiar...My bad, I always get the two mixed up since TDIC...

[Mikey]

Typical intelligence agencies don't involve themselves with any threat - rather, they tend to limit themselves to their own mission statements/spheres of influence. The CIA rarely involves itself with internal affairs that are more appropriately the province of the FBI, and neither one tends to attend ,ilitary matters which are the province of the NSA (for example.) Neither prosecutes national-level counterfeiting investigations, which are the province of the Secret Service. Etc., etc.

[Foxfyre]

Typical intelligence agencies don't involve themselves with any threat - rather, they tend to limit themselves to their own mission statements/spheres of influence. The CIA rarely involves itself with internal affairs that are more appropriately the province of the FBI, and neither one tends to attend ,ilitary matters which are the province of the NSA (for example.) Neither prosecutes national-level counterfeiting investigations, which are the province of the Secret Service. Etc., etc.

Its a wonder that they get ANYTHING done.....

[USSEnterprise]

Maybe S31 had something to do with the phase cloaking device

[Captain Seafort]

That, IIRC, isn't just speculation - it was specifically mentioned in The Episode That Will Not Be Spoken Of.

[Victory is Life]

What episode?

[Captain Seafort]

These Are the Voyages

[Mark]

They stole it from the Tholians.

[SolkaTruesilver]

As I recall, which could be wrong granted, but S31 was brought into existence due to the realization that in order for the Federation to survive, there would be times when the necessary action would be one that violated Federation law and/or moral code.

And trying to murder the head of state of a country the US is not at war with is consistent with the law and moral code of the US?

I don't know if it's against the "Moral code of the US", but it's certainly morally not above the US's history of intelligence operations in Latin America. They did killed a lot of people over there between the 50's and now.