The famous meeting of the Group of Eight has been under scrutiny from protesters for a long time now. Plus, since NATO and ISAF meetings have been scheduled at the same time in the same city, authorities worried Chicago won’t be able to handle it. As a result, with only two months before the meeting, the president decided to change its location from Chicago to Camp David.
In May, Chicago was supposed to host three big events, but now that the G8 summit has been moved, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the ISAF will remain the highlights of the month. A surprise decision coming from the White House changed the G8 summit’s location from the hectic and crowded Chicago to a more secluded location.
It goes without saying that at such a late time a decision to change the location of an event where international leaders have announced their presence seems a little bit suspicious. The G8 summit will take place at Camp David, a location that will allow for a more “intimate” setting, away from all the media focus and protests scheduled across Chicago at mid May.
Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, explained: “It’s not about Chicago being able to handle logistics, as evidenced by the fact that the NATO and ISAF meetings will be held there, which are far larger than the G8 meeting”.
That seemed like quite a plain statement, right? But, the second part should really give you something to think about. Hayden added that as “there are a lot of political, economic and security issues that come together at the G8” it was the president’s idea for a couple of weeks now to look “for a more informal setting with these close partners”. Another official source added that the president is interested in having a “free-flowing discussion with his fellow leaders”.
At the G8 summit, U.S., Canada, the U.K. France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia will send their leaders to discuss issues of the global economy, the nuclear programs of the East, the Iran situation, gas prices and obviously the European debt crisis. The summit also marks the first meeting between Obama and Vladimir Putin, the newly appointed president of Russia.
