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The war that ended just before the begining of the TNG.

I belive that it was s short conflict. Brought abaut when a planet that was close to Cardasian space joined the Federation. That brought a few unihabitant planets which Fedearation decidet to colonize (and we all know how good they are at that). That probably came with a simoltanius expancion of Cardasia twords Federation space which resualted in a border resebeling a giant S.

The main armenent of Cardasia were the Galors where starfleet had Mirandas patroling the area. The first push by Cardasian forces probably resuted in those masecers of civilians. Starfleet needed some time to assemble its fleet and to attack Cardasian forces. The attack was probably just one giant strike against a key facility in the area wher Cardasia was heavely beaten.That resulted in Cardasia leaving ocupyed areas and starting peace talks which resulted in the treading of system to make the border a strait line.

Interesting concept, but the evidence we've got of the war indicates that it was considerably longer - at least 12 years in fact. We know that the war ended shortly before "The Wounded" in TNG series 4 (2367), and that Picard was involved in it while in command of the Stargazer (ref:"The Wounded"). Since the Stargazer was abandoned in 2354 or 55 ("The Battle"), the war must have started before that date.

I think it really depends on the definition of 'war'.
There was relative peace (compared to what we'd think of as war) during TNG. It was hardly full blown war like that of the Dominion one, clearly before (and after) TNG it was a lot worse, suggesting a bit of an unofficial truce.

I think Thorin's right. It could be like how North and South Korea are still at war, but have had a cease fire for the past few decades I belive.

It wouldn't need to be a full blown war to last a dozen years. Wars on our little ball of rock have taken decades before, a war which encompasses dozens, maybe hundreds, of planets and all the space between them would take a long time to finish.

Indeed - the Cardassian war was probably a series of skirmishes and raids, rather than full-scale fleet offensives, with neither side committing a significant fraction of their fleet. This would also explain the series of small-scale infantry engagements that occured on Setlik III - the various descriptions we have of the battle imply a very small scale operation, rather than a major offensive.

Were it an all out war, the federation would have ripped them to pieces. I would think that only the UFPs willingness to avoid war saved the cardassians.

It's more likely that for some reason the Feds simply weren't ready for a major war in the 2350s/60s. Can you imagine the US response today if another country attacked a coastal town in the same way the Cardies did Setlik III? The Feds may not be a bunch of psycotic warmongers, but I can't see them ignoring an event like that (and later handing over swathes of border territory) unless they were incapable of conducting a major offensive.

They may also have been worried about drawing forces away from their borders with other races to fight the Cardies, who were clearly outmatched.

At this point the Romulans hadn't been heard of for decades, and the Klingons were close allies - probably closer than they'd be again until Martok's Chancellorship. Additionally, while I can imagine the Feds only assigning minimum forces initially, I can't imagine them continuing to prosecute a minimallistic war (and handing over territory to the Cardies!) after Setlik III (which must hve happened prior to the launch of the E-D given O'Brien's involvement). The only explanation that makes any sense is that they were incapable of conducting an effective counter offensive, possibly due to their inability to conduct surface operations.

Good point.

Who would be the other enemy, then? The Tzenkethi? The Tholians? Both?

Starfleets ships weren't really up to date at this point in time. The Nebs and GCS were still new and they didn't have defiants or akiras to fill out the ranks. At this point in time the bulk of the fleet was still Mirandas and Excelsiors. No doubt the feds would have won the war but it would have cost them dearly to do so. A Galor was a near match for what the UFP was fielding at the time. The UFP wouldn't want to fight a nasty war if trading a few worlds back and forth would solve the problem. The US is a poor comparison. The US is more like the Klingons or the Dominion then the UFP. If anything, the UFP's thoughts for war remind me of post WWII UK and her colonies.

Who would be the other enemy, then? The Tzenkethi? The Tholians? Both?

Probably both. And don't forget that Starfleet seems to regularly encounter hostile races. Even though they're nowhere near powerful enough to challenge Starfleet, they'd still have to deploy ships along those borders as well.

Even if there were no open hostilities with those other races, their attitude would have prevented a more robust deployment into the Cardassian effort.

Captain Seafort wrote:possibly due to their inability to conduct surface operations.

Yes, this does seem to be the area in which the Cardassians (and everyone else) outclass the Federation. That, a/o an unwillingness or divided mindset of the UFP Council to commit to a war.