system
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human
[Star Wars] Why couldn't The Republic afford to lose Kashyyyk?

I have been wondering about this for a while. Why couldn't they afford to lose the system, as Obi-wan said? The Republic is dealing with the civil war, and as they can't afford to lose it I assume that it is of immense strategic value. Does it have to do with the Wookies themselves, or is it soemthing else?
gpt
At the time of the Battle of Kashyyyk, the Republic was winning the war: they had the major hyperroutes leading into the Core Worlds secured, and they were besieging the Separatists' holdings in the Outer Rim Territories. Kashyyyk was a major navigation hub for the eastern quadrant of the galaxy, sitting at a nexus of the lateral hyperlanes linking the Perlemian Trade Route and the Corellian Run, as well as dominating the ancient routes running from Hutt Space towards the Core Worlds. The Kashyyyk hyperlanes, though slower than the main routes, represented the Separatists' best chance of outflanking the Republic in the Outer Rim or penetrating the Core Worlds.

Additionally, the Wookiees were long-rumoured to possess knowledge of secret hyperspace routes: the Claatuvac Guild, based out of the city of Kachirho, had a long tradition of training hyperspace scouts, and both Republic and Separatist intelligence agencies were determined to claim their archives.

Finally, Kashyyyk had long been considered a model of Republic influence in the Mid Rim, with the Wookiees being representatives of the Republic in the otherwise-dangerous Mytaranor sector and on the edge of Hutt Space. To lose Kashyyyk, a major species homeworld and representative of the Republic's "civilising mission", would have been a political disaster.