Who Is REALLY Responsible For All Of The Deaths On Alderaan?
With the destruction of Alderaan, the Empire had hoped to not only strike a terrible blow against the growing Rebel Alliance, but also to send a clear and unmistakable message to all systems and civilizations of the galaxy not to underestimate its power. Little did they know that the eradication of a whole planet would not only strengthen the Rebels’ determination to keep on fighting, but also that their precious deep space battle station would soon be obliterated itself.
But who was really responsible for Alderaan’s fate? At first glance, the answer seems obvious. But as with any major event, be it positive or as terrible as this, the situation is much more complex and the blame can’t be put on one person alone. So here is a list of people who all got their hands dirty one way or another, when “millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.”
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The Death Star Gunners
Of course, these people were technically responsible for the destruction of Alderaan, as they were the ones who fire the massive superlaser. But on the other hand, they were hired soldiers who had to obey orders. And if they hadn’t, someone else surely would have, and they would probably have been punished. We don’t know if they joined the Empire voluntarily or if they were forced into service. Maybe they believed that this massacre was a noble and necessary measure, and maybe the image of the exploding Alderaan appeared before them every time the closed their eyes.
Darth Vader
It is a common misconception that Vader was responsible for Alderaan’s fate, as he was the second in command after Palpatine himself. But as we learned in Rogue One, Vader was merely in command of the fleet, and the Death Star was Wilhuff Tarkin’s toy. This, of course, doesn’t make Vader innocent, as he obviously didn’t try opposing what happened to Leia’s home planet, but it also doesn’t make him the main culprit.
Wilhuff Tarkin
Grand Moff Tarkin was a master strategist, who never cared about anyone but himself. So, when he saw the potential the Death Star offered after the event on Jedha, he didn’t hesitate a moment to take control of the project that had been Orson Krennic’s sole interest for many years. And he also didn’t waste any time when it came to show the galaxy the full potential of the Empire’s new weapon. It was Tarkin, who chose to employ the superlaser at its full potential for the first time not on some remote planets like Dantooine, but on a core world like Alderaan, and it was Tarkin who gave the order to “fire when ready.”
Palpatine
Ever since the Clone Wars, Tarkin had a strong working-relationship with the Chancellor of the Republic, and their bond didn’t change when Palpatine declared himself Emperor. He knew that he could trust the man from Eriadu to act according to his will and for the glory of his Empire. But even with Tarkin’s long leash, he had to ask Palpatine for permission sometimes, and destroying a whole planet surely was one of those times. Palpatine maybe didn’t explicitly command to destroy Alderaan, but he most probably gave his blessing to use the Death Star against one of the core worlds.
Bail Organa
Bail and his wife Brea were in their palace when DS1 arrived in the Alderaanian system, and they died with two billion of their people, but he still was somehow also responsible for what happened to his homeworld. For roughly two decades, the senator had been more or less secretly building up a rebellion against the Empire using his own and the influence of Alderaan. The regime knew about this and had even issued warnings that planet was a threat to the security of the Empire. So beside from the fact that Alderaan was well known in the galaxy, while at the same time didn’t have a major strategic value for the Empire, like Corellia with its industries, Bail Organa’s role in shaping the Rebel Alliance also made him unwillingly responsible for what happened to his home world.
Leia
It is probably very hard to call someone who had to witness the destruction of her homeworld also responsible for this event, but her role and her actions before and after her capture did have an impact on Tarkin’s choice. Who knows if Tarkin’s decision would have been different, had the person responsible for transporting the Death Star’s plans stemmed from another world, or if the Death Star hadn’t fired on another planet, had Leia given away the (false) location of the Rebel base earlier?
So, although Tarkin’s role in, and his responsibility for what happened to Alderaan can’t be underestimated, there are a number of others who had their hands in or at least influenced one of the greatest tragedies of the Star Wars galaxy.
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