: Thel seemed to want this empire to remain and likely with
: little to better the conditions and interspecies relations of its members.
: Sure, as the weeks progressed and the Schism raged on, Thel's faith in the
: Forerunners was deeply shaken. In the post-war years, with the Sangheili
: ability to maintain, operate, and support large fleets severely diminished
: from its wartime peak, Thel surely couldn't police the vast territories of
: the former Covenant. But if he could, if he could reunite the member races
: of the Covenant, would Thel be any better than the Sangheili and
: San'Shyuum elite that preceded him?

As an individual who seems deeply motivated by guilt over what he has done, I tend to believe that such a self-reflection on his own actions and purpose would lead to a similar process of reflecting on his people's actions and purpose over the ages, and on the defunct Covenant system as a whole.

: Despite all we can see from his relationship with Lord Hood and other human
: colonial officials, I believe that Thel has very little trust in our
: species as the vast whole.

Not sure that's what I'd describe him as. He seems to have staked a lot on the basis that peace and co-operation with humanity is possible, something that I wouldn't see him doing if he didn't believe in it. There's evidence that his reliance on this ideal has went as far as basing certain elements of the Sangheili's recovery on it, such as combined efforts on the part of both species to come to an understanding of how certain Covenant technologies worked and in retrieving vast Covenant information archives.

: Though who would blame him? Humanity is the
: sole superpower in the Orion Arm. While the Sangheili aren't close to shy
: of possessing carriers and high-end battlecruisers, they couldn't hope to
: match the power projection capabilties of the UNSC on any day. New
: technologies in humanity's forces is tipping the scale in their favor
: considerably.

I'm not sure I'd agree that the Infinity and the S-IV program are anything for Thel to fear in the long term.

: I believe a Cold
: War is brewing underneath the framework of this new galactic order and
: Thel is just one to let it go hot.

I'm hoping that doesn't happen, personally. After the Kilo-5 novels I've had just about all I can take of that kind of story.