Earth-Minbari War : First Contact - Make all the mistakes

Our traditional greeting is to shine a light in your face then run screaming at you with a axe … We mean it as a sign of respect.

Remember also, that Minbari society changed due to Valen. And Valen knew all this. Therefore, Valen set this all up to ensure it happened as he remembered it.

The humans should of sent the message in Centauri. Reasoning: Londo stated that the Centauri ans Minbari have had dealings before. Thus they would know each others language.

In the novelization, it was implied that Jankowski had a lot of connections, political and military; and thus that was how someone not only completely unqualified but the direct opposite of what was needed to successfully complete the mission was picked for it. Recent history is full of precedents for that.

Your final read on the war is accurate, and indeed the cannon explanation. Lando himself said it during In 'The Beginning'. "The humans have a saying. Pride Goethe before a fall. Sadly pride has never been just a human trait." The Ignorant pride and arrogance of BOTH sides in equal measure led to the most colossal misunderstanding in (fictional) history. Both sides were equally culpable in the ensuing devastation The great tragedy of the war was all the times it could have been avoided, or ended... but wasn't.

I expect the mistakes make by both Mimbari and the Earthers and was written with so many bad decisions on purpose was to point out the need for Babylon 5 for diplomacy. Earth being a major victor in the Dilgar war and made themselves known as a major power player, was cocky but reasonably so. As so many other "older races" weren't up to the snuff. As Londo stated in the first episodes of B5. "Do you know why I am here? I'm here to grovel before your wonderful Earth Alliance, in hopes of attaching ourselves to your destiny, like... what are those fish called on your planet that attach themselves to sharks?" "Ramoras." "Yes. You make very good sharks Mr. Garibaldi. We were pretty good sharks ourselves, once - but somehow, along the way, we forgot how to bite. There was a time, when this whole quadrant belonged to us! What are we now? Twelve worlds and a thousand monuments to past glories, living off memories, stories, selling trinkets. My god man, we've become a tourist attraction! "See the great Centauri Republic, open 9 to 5, Earth time." - Londo and Garibaldi The Centari themselves seem to have fallen behind earth. So I expect Earth felt they could take on the Mimbari sure they were old, but they probably have gotten behind the times as well, especially as they kept to themselves. While Earth did posture for defensive action, Mimbari gesture of piece with over loaded their sensors was indeed threatening. It is like trying to pet a scared dog, that hand to comfort to the dog looks the same as the one used to hit.

Sheridan did try to reason with the general. Telling him that captain Jenkowsky was a lose cannon, and that his record with first contacts was problematic at best. Sheridan was offered the XO position of the expedition, but turned it down because he felt uneasy about Jenkowsky as the overall commander. He was criticized for his decision, but ultimately was proven correct. He also gave the earth alliance it's only victory during the war. I don't count the first contact, as neither side had declared war until after the tragedy.

Worst first contact ever? You obviously haven't been to many bars …

I love that even after all these years, this programme is still talked about and fans adore

This is the very definition of Grimdark. Everything that could have gone wrong WENT WRONG. This is also probably the way the average first contact goes in 40k.

"Arrogance and stupidity rolled up into one package, how efficient of you" Londo said it best.

He was the wrong person to send. I think some of the higher ups knew that which is why they tried to to convince Sheridan to be xo

I do t think there was any conspiracy or shadow influence that directed this meeting. The EA became cocksure of itself after beating the Dilgar. Being so new on the galactic stage and the Dilgar war being a large and dynamic conflict, I think the EA thought they were in the big leagues then. Technology aside, big victories over supposed big foes can make one feel a lot bigger than they are especially among hawks.

I wonder if Delenn ever told her husband that she cast the deciding vote that killed many of his friends before they got married?!?!

Just found this series and have been enjoying it. I would present a third alternative as to why the EA ignored the Centauri advice: Perhaps Earth has learned (by this time) that the Centauri talk a big game, but exaggerate (Earth being a lost colony; Centauri running the universe). Perhaps during the Dilgar war, the Centauri advised Earth to not get involved... so, when they gave similar advice regarding the Minbari, EA took the position that since they handled the Dilgar against the Centauri's advice, they could handle the Minbari, too.

I always felt that Dukat had made his decision prior to the grey council meeting & manipulated the council into doing what he really wanted, he did say "I've always heard about Za'hadum in legends & whispers, I've always wanted to got here & see it for myself" (that's probably not word for word what he said as I lent my dvd out & never got it back). Earthforce was overconfident thanks to the Dilgar war, I think this played a big factor in them not listening to Londo's warning. Both sides were arrogant  Thanks for the great video

As to Dukat being confused as to why warrior cast approached the way they did, my guess is that it's similar to having a high ranking political official on a Naval vessel. The Captain wouldn't explain why ship functions were done in a certain way but just follow established ship protocols. Just one way to explain it I suppose.

The way I always viewed the Mimbari was through the caste system. The two dominant castes were Warrior and Religious, and I don't think they liked or trusted each other. This lead to them being somewhat secretive and insular. So, Dukat did not know about the Warrior caste "gun ports open" policy (I think there are or were some real human cultures that had a similar approach to meeting strangers). Likewise, I think that the Warrior caste did not mention the Earth force ships to Dukat because he was religious caste, and they could handle it themselves. If the head of the Grey Council had been Warrior caste, I suspect they would have reported the earth ships. As for the Earth force Captain, I think he was chosen because he had proved a capable commander in a combat situation, so could. Defend himself if necessary. This proved to be a bad choice for first contact, because it could be interpreted that he panicked. Blame for the war lie with both sides. A more measured and thoughtful Earth commander might have activated weapons as a defensive stance, but waited for the Mimbari to actually attack before opening fire, but Earthforce wanted someone more aggressive. As for the Mimbari, their own arrogance and secretive nature resulted in the Earth Captain interpreting their weapons stance as a preparation to attack. Certainly the Warrior caste could not understand that another culture could view this open and "peaceful" approach as an aggressive move. I have no idea if this is correct, but for me it helps to explain how things went so wrong. Keep up the great work :-)

In Star Trek The Motion picture, I believe I recall V'ger interpreting active scans as hostile.

I know whenever I want to learn more about skillful first contact diplomacy I study Captain Janikowski and his brilliant relations with the Minbari