Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
terror cell activity, medical information, and political stability. Remember,
there is no such thing as having too much information.
AVOID POLITICALLY UNSTABLE REGIONS
Political stability is something that Americans take for granted. In many
parts of the world, however, this is not the case. In America, we transfer
power via the electoral process. In many countries, governments change
when the current leader dies or is overthrown. A government friendly to
U.S. interests today may, literally overnight, become hostile to America and
its citizens. The deposed Shah of Iran, Reza Pahvlavi, was a strongly pro-
Western leader. His overthrow by the radical Islamic regime headed by the
late Ayatollah Khomeini was as strongly anti-American, and its first action
was to storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran and take American citizens hos-
tage. Radical Iranian “students” held American citizens for 444 days.
While it is impossible to accurately predict an unexpected coup d'état,
proper intelligence will provide you with an overall view of the govern-
ment. What is the nature of the current regime? How is power transferred?
Is there a tradition of democracy or dictatorship? Analysis should provide
a historical overview of the nature of government as well as an in-depth
history of how power was transferred over the last 50 years. The instabil-
ity of the government in your country of residence is a critical element in
formulating security plans for yourself, your family, and your company.
Unstable political situations, especially in countries with a history of the
violent overthrow of past regimes, require that you have an emergency
evacuation plan in place during your stay.
At the time of this writing, there is currently an emergency situation
in the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire). A brief overview of the history and devel-
opment of the situation in this volatile African nation should serve as a
practical example of what we are talking about. If American citizens, con-
templating travel to the Ivory Coast, had consulted the State Department
website, they would have learned that the political situation in that nation is
anything but stable. The official security warning reads, in part, as follows:
U.S. citizens traveling to and residing in Côte d'Ivoire are urged to exercise
caution and maintain security awareness at all times. Côte d'Ivoire is undergo-
ing a period of extended political, social, and economic change. There have been
several instances of brief, but extensive violence since December 1999, when a
