The Republic of Angola is located on the southern Atlantic coast of Africa and is bordered by the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the north, Namibia to the south, and Zambia to the east. Angola has a narrow coastal plain that rises sharply into a plateau. The country is roughly twice the size of Texas, with abundant natural resources such as diamonds, gold, bountiful Atlantic fishing, and rich oil deposits. According to the CIA World Factbook, Angola had a population of 10.8 million in 2003.

Formerly a colony of Portugal, Angola declared its independence in 1975 after years of fighting and has been ravaged by civil war for most of the time since, nominally controlled by a one-party Marxist state until 1992. A United Nations' (UN)-observed election was held after a brief cease-fire between Marxist and Western-backed factions in 1992; the Marxist Popular Movement for the Liberation...