Tag: tv

Suppressing Freedom

Understanding the Empire’s false flag operation in Palmo City

Ghorman, a human world located in the inner colonies, lies near the Rimma Hyperspace lanes. A peaceful world, with a very proud and respectable people, Ghorman is located between Giju and Thyferra.

The people of Ghorman are known and respected throughout the galaxy, due to their unique silks which are a by-product produced from the Ghorlectipods; an arachnid native only to Ghorman. So we see a peaceful and prosperous world that is part of the galactic trade, that should be anything but the epicenter of chaos.

In Andor Season 2, we find Ghorman is one of many worlds that have come under Imperial rule since the end of the Clone Wars. The Ghormans however, have attracted the undue attention of the Empire. It begins with the people of Ghorman petitioning the senate for their rights to be preserved under Imperial rule.

They have faced unjust rule from Imperial overseers and military forces, who have abused them and mistreated them. In the wake of their petitions, Grand Moff Tarkin lands his personal ship on the planet, crushing more than five hundred Ghorma protestors underneath it who refused to move.

This drew sympathy for the Ghormans in the Senate, and unwelcome attention for the Emperor. Subsequent to this, the Empire learns that Ghorman has large deposits of Kelkite, an untapped mineral resource that they need for their new “energy project.”

To obtain it, Director Orsen Krennic and the Imperial Security Bureau, or ISB, create a plan to utilize Ghorman’s resistance front in a false flag operation. They allow the local resistance fighters to hijack and steal Imperial weapons shipments, in order to set the stage for the operation.

The ISB then secretly manipulates the local Ghorman resistance in Palmo City, and uses intentionally leaked intelligence, as well as psychological warfare, to push the Resistance to instigate violent contact with Imperial forces.

What the ISB does not divulge to local Imperial commanders on Ghorman, is that they intend to use one of their own as bait for the attack. During a protest in Palmo square, a lone ISB sniper shoots and kills a fellow Imperail soldier, thus providing the authorization for the remaining Imperial forces to justify using force on the Ghorman resistance.

It turns into a bloodbath, with the strategically positioned Imperial soldiers cutting down the civilians. This in turn justifies Imperial control and occupation of the planet, allowing Imperial engineers to mine the Kelkite in the hills, while enforcing a loacal blackade of the planet.

The Ghorman Massacre in Palmo City Square

This blockade prevents the Ghorman people from having access to necessary food staples in order to survive, and the resulting outcome is poverty and starvation. The Ghormans then become, for all intents and purposes, prisoners on their own planet.

Asymmetric Warfare

The Ghorman operation is a classic example of Imperial use of Asymmetric Warfare. The planners understood that they could not risk anyone generating sympathy for the Ghormans in the senate, and thus needed to “prove” to the galactic populace who the real aggressors were.

They then set out to plan the operation to infiltrate the Ghorman Resistance through an extended hand, Syril Karn. He would know only enough to carry out what was needed, while the counter insurgency operation was closely guarded.

This again, is a textbook example of compartmentalized information at work. Each section involved in the operation knows only as much as they need to carry out their orders, while contributing to the larger operation as a whole.

By utilizing Imperial Army and Stormtroopers, the ISB could position them to react to contact, without having knowledge of the false flag operation. If the assassination of one of their own were compromised, it could be leaked to the Galactic News Network, turning the opinion of the people against the Emperor.

The Empire itself manipulated the news by utilizing reporters who were loyal the Empire and thus suppressing the truth in the wake of Imperial operations. Ghorman then, would be no different, and anyone caught speaking anything other than what was planned would be silenced.

The ISB knew from years of psychological operations how local populaces behaved in the wake of Imperial oversight, and they fueled that fire to push the Ghormans to react. So, from the perspective of the ISB, the killing of one individual soldier was deemed acceptable and necessary, to create the conditions for complete control of the planet.

Opposite side of the coin

As appaling as this operation was, we must not forget the many instances which the early Rebellion engaged in the exact same type of operation, in order to preserve operational security, and to achieve their goals. The very same thing occured when Anto Kreegyr led an X-Wing squadron to attack an Imperial power station on Spellhaus.

Rather than compromise his mole in the ISB and warn Kreegyr, Luthen Rael allowed the attack to commence, resulting in the loss of Kreegyr and his forces. The result was the ISB being misdirected and not being alerted to the rebel forces. This gave the Rebellion something that it desperately needed, time. Time to build, time to muster their forces, and time to plan.

A false flag operation is both ethically and morally wrong, and I do not see this type of action on the part of the Rebellion as something that is condoned. Conducting such an operation goes against what the Rebellion stands for, and Luthen’s use of it should not be accepted as the norm, but rather the exception.

Andor S2: Epsiode 8 Review

Andor has become the last, best hope for Star Wars fans, as it represents a continuation in many ways of the familiarity of the original trilogy. The realism of the “used universe” concept is clearly evident, and that is due in part to a large number of practical and real-world sets being used for filming.

In Season two Episode eight, there are several things that I would like to briefly discuss that I found intriguing. To begin, I want to discuss the shootout scene in the Ghorman city center. For the most part I thought it was well done, although I did see some mistakes by actors portraying both Imperials and Insurgents.

This was mostly related to improper weapons handling and manipulation; specifically with using blaster carbines without the shoulder stock extended. In one instance Cassian can be seen using a modular blaster with a macroscope, but no stock. That might work okay for point shooting, but not for long range work like he’s attempting.

Cassian hasn’t been to the Maven Therrell school of shooting has he?

The reason being is that the small arms in the Star Wars universe may differ in their operation from the real-world weapons they are based on, but they are used in the same manner. Anyone who has watched the original trilogy or played Battlefront knows that blasters have recoil, so to suggest that you could use a long gun without a shoulder stock is an oversight by the Director.

Another aspect of the shoot-out scene is the sound of the blasters. Again, in the original trilogy as well as Battlefront and Battlefront 2, it is evident how loud these weapons are. Blasters do not shoot at the velocities of modern firearms, but they do produce a loud report when fired.

In Andor, the blaster fire seems to be intentionally toned down, which detracts from the authenticity and realism of the battle. In some instances, they do not even utilize the same sound effects for weapons such as the Blastech E-11s. This is not an issue that is reserved to this episode, but has been seen throughout this series, as well as others like The Book of Boba Fett, and The Mandalorian.

Syril Karn

I want to briefly discuss the Character of Syril Karn, whom I found to be an extremely disturbing individual. Syril has from the beginning been portrayed as a very ambitious individual, with an ego to match.

He has a desire to be someone of importance, a successful leader if you will. Within that however, we find someone who acts aggressively and impulsively at times. This it would seem indicates that he is at his core broken and insecure, which may stem from the way that his narcissistic mother treats him.

Being belittled as an adult by one’s own mother is humiliating, and both a perverted and unnatural experience to be subjected to. Syril then, seeks to compensate for this bullying by irrationally seeking some way to cope. For Syril, that coping mechanism is in becoming someone that he is not, in order to disprove to himself the lies that his mother has imposed upon him.

At each turn Syril acts on anger and impulse, which cause him great failure and misfortune. Even in his relationship with Deedra, he goes too far. First, by failing to acknowledge the Imperial rank structure and demanding to see her, and at others by speaking out of turn.

All of his failures come to an inflection point when he confronts Deedra about the false flag operation on Ghorman. Syril unleashes his anger on Deedra, forcefully choking her to ger her to talk. He then storms out of the office, and into the fray in the city center.

These impulsive decisions carried out by Syril, and driven by his own ego, lead to his demise. He attacks Cassian, and before he can kill him Syril is shot dead by the resistance leader with a single headshot. This scene was in my opinion, one of the most emotional in any series that I have ever witnessed.

Syril Karn’s final act of aggression becomes his last

Syril for whatever reason, chose to continue his reckless pursuit of self-entitlement, and ended up as an unnecessary casualty of the war. Had he simply obeyed Deedra and left the planet, he would have never known the reality for which he was a willing participant.

I would suggest that Syril was lost in the balance of light and darkness. he had become aware of the evil of the Empire, but because of his uncontrollable rage, he forfeited any opportunity to make a difference by becoming a true rebel.

His death was shocking, and saddening. Seeing his lifeless body lying on the floor, shattered the lives of the only two people who cared anything about him. Had he chose to let go of his anger and extend his hand to Cassian, he would still be alive, and his life would have taken on a greater meaning.

It is a very real symbology of what we see in life every day. People who choose to act in anger, who feel entitled to act on aggression, destroy the lives of the innocent, as well as their own. They fail to grasp that forgiveness is a window, that can open their eyes to a path of peace and tranquility, where so many choose hate and violence.

As Cassian says to Jyn in Rogue One, “Let it go.” The act of revenge is not worth sacrificing one’s character and future for, under any circumstances.