I’ve rewatched the episode fairly recently and I stand by my decision. Sisko had no reasonable justification to do what he did, in my opinion. Are there arguments? Sure, but none that I consider valid simply because of the quote that I ended that previous comment on. You cannot explain away a wantonly immoral act because you think it is connected to some higher purpose.
Terrorist is a point of opinion. They were still people fleeing occupation and reclaiming their world. On top of that, are you willing to say that every single Maquis member is a terrorist? Every man, woman and child? That they deserved to all go through that when they might not have any other options to turn to? That doesn’t seem very Starfleet to me.
That being said, who they are makes literally no difference to me. There were other solutions. Sisko didn’t need an immediate answer in that moment. He actively went to the planet and decided to gas it himself. The actions carried out by Sisko are the problem. Not who he takes them out on. But the personal vendetta plays a significant role and you cannot deny that it does. The majority of the episode is Sisko throwing a temper tantrum over Eddington. Eddington even successfully manages to tease Sisko into making rash decisions. Sisko actively endangered his own crew to hunt down Eddington. The Defiant was not remotely fit for service but he still brought her out, nearly smashing the hell out of it by colliding with the station itself.
Every single action taken by Sisko in that episode horrifies me. He allows himself to get played so easily and then says “Oh I’ll play the villain” and attacks the planet. He’s so utterly not Starfleet in that episode that it hurts. The fact he doesn’t show any remorse, but actively enjoys the fact that he’s managed to capture Eddington, really sickens me. If he had shown any iota of a problem with what he was doing then it would be a different conversation. Sisko didn’t. He rarely shows remorse and it’s why I don’t like him. A good Captain should be willing to question the decisions he makes. When he doesn’t the answer of what’s right and what’s wrong, he shouldn’t be able to sleep well at night. The fact I have two episodes to point to and say “Look at Sisko commiting unspeakable acts. Now look at Sisko completely absolving himself of all responsibility and assuring himself that he’s right” really sticks in my craw. I can’t like the man.