The IOA
International civilian oversight
- Nature
- International civilian committee
- Role
- Political oversight of the program
- Tendency
- Caution and calculation
The suits keeping an eye on the soldiers. The IOA is the international civilian committee that oversees the program on behalf of the major nations in on the secret. On paper, a democratic counterweight. In practice, often a thorn in the side of the people in the field.
Overview
The Stargate program is far too big to stay in the hands of the military alone. That's what the IOA is for: representing the countries that fund the program and share the secret, and keeping an eye on what the military is doing. A healthy idea, in theory. Nobody should be running the galaxy without any oversight at all.
History
Except that, in practice, the IOA is often a source of irritation. Its members think like politicians: caution, calculation, national interests. Where SG-1 or Atlantis have to decide fast, in urgent and dangerous situations, the IOA dithers, suspects, complicates. This tension between the field and the offices is one of the franchise's recurring sources of conflict.
Themes
