Leaked travel advice for spooks from the CIA

By A.W. | WASHINGTON, DC

AMONG the trove of American intelligence agency documents released by Wikileaks this week is one that instructs the country’s spies on protocols to follow while travelling abroad. Some of these are specific to the CIA’s needs. (“Talk to CCIE/Engineering about your planned TDY timeline,” the document begins, adding such tidbits as “Breeze through German Customs because you have your cover-for-action story down pat.”) But others are just good common-sense business-travel tips—for spies and corporate sales managers alike.

The first universal advice in the document, which appears to be designed for spooks visiting an operations base in Frankfurt, is this: “If you are using a personal credit card, be sure to call your credit card company and notify them of your travel to Germany.” That seems like sound guidance. Even better is the pithy advice on which airline to fly with:

Flying Lufthansa: Booze is free so enjoy (within reason)!

Flying United: My condolences, but at least you are earning a United leg towards a status increase.

Hardly patriotic. One also has to wonder at the depth of the spooks’ training, when the guide has to remind them: “Do not leave anything electronic or sensitive unattended in your hotel room. (Paranoid, yes, but better safe then [sic] sorry.)”

Then there is this helpful tip for Americans unfamiliar with Germany and other parts of Europe: “If you arrive on a Sunday morning...expect to find most businesses (grocery stores especially) are closed. Some restaurants may be open. Gas stations are not recommended for fine dining.”

Lastly, there’s a closing suggestion that you reward yourself for a successful trip. “Buy something in Duty Free, because you’re awesome and you deserve it! (Might I recommend a travellers’ edition single malt whisky?)” That advice certainly holds true whether your business is arranging a merger or foiling foreign clandestine actions.

The memo follows one released by Wikileaks in December 2014 entitled “CIA Assessment on Surviving Secondary Screening at Airports While Maintaining Cover”, which also had plenty of useful advice for travellers hoping to avoid the hassle of being pulled out of line for additional security screening (see blog). Security officials, it noted, are more likely to single out travellers who exhibit “shaking or trembling hands, rapid breathing for no apparent reason, cold sweats, pulsating carotid arteries, a flushed face, and avoidance of eye contact”. But procedures vary by airport. Officers in Budapest use closed-circuit television cameras and one-way mirrors to watch passengers for signs of nervousness. When passengers collect their baggage in Mauritius, they are monitored by zoomed-in cameras so officers can study their facial expressions. Secondary screening can be triggered by switching lines in Cote d’Ivoire, appearing to study the customs process in Tokyo, and travelling alone with a backpack in Tel Aviv.

And if you do get picked out for attention, the CIA advised, try to avoid saying “ah” or “um”, biting your lips, adjusting your clothes, using expressions like “to be honest” and “swear to God”, and providing overly specific responses. Regular business travellers who do these things won’t be brought up on charges, but they might be more likely to miss their flight.