After reading Star Wars author Karen Traviss blog, I was reminded of another act of betrayal that takes place in Revenge of the Sith, this one involving the clones.

The clonetroopers were bred for one purpose only. They were to serve as expendable canon fodder in Sidious' plot to overthrow the Republic. As such they were perfect canon fodder. There was no human face to bring the harsh realities of war close to home. The citizens of the Old Republic didn't see the bred warriors as husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons all dying in the name of Palpatine's war, but instead as means to an end. The clones gave Palpatine the ability to prosecute war and keep citizens loved ones safely off the front lines.

So the clones went about doing their duty, not really loved by anyone in the galaxy as they had no family except each other. But, as often happens in the course of war, the clone did gain "family" so to speak, in the form of the Jedi Order. Given the Jedi respect for all life, it is not surprising that they would come to respect and value the clonetroopers that they led into battle all the time. They would come to depend on their professionalism and ability to do their job well. Much of the expanded universe literature about the clonetroopers has focused on how the Jedi began to see the clones as unique individuals, in spite of their obvious similarities. We see clearly from Revenge of the Sith that Obi-Wan Kenobi has a bond of friendship with Commander Cody, making a promise not to dispose of all the Separatists before Cody and his squad arrive.

This is what makes the clones unwitting betrayal of the Jedi so tragic. In a Republic where war is over, the Jedi would have fought for the clones rights. They would have helped them to adjust to a life they were had never experienced. The Jedi would have helped the citizens of the galaxy to treat the clones as human beings. But in an instant, everything changed, and instead the clones turned, albeit unwittingly, on the only beings in the galaxy who, on the whole, respected and valued them. This act would mean that the clones would spend the rest of their lives being nothing but cannon fodder for the machinations of a powerful dictator who only had his own interests at heart. In short, the clones would never know what other surprises life might have had in store for them.