Scorched planet policy

From Battlestar Wiki, the free, open content Battlestar Galactica encyclopedia and episode guide

The scorched planet policy is the name given to Specter's fictitious plan to destroy the human abodes on Attila, by none other than Baltar himself.

Specter claims that he is undergoing this plan, since the swamp-like nature of the planet causes damage to the Cylons' circuitry, and that destroying all the human built structures would leave humans nowhere to run to, were there any on the planet at all.

This policy was never followed through on Attila, as the explosions heard on Attila were not the Cylons destroying the human abodes, but rather the petro dumps being destroyed by bombs placed by Nilz and Robus. The Cylons hastily leave Attila, leaving Megan's castle intact and the survivors on the planet able to live out their lives without Cylon interference (TOS: "The Young Lords").