President Obama uses security tent wherever he travels to ensure secrecy
Security tent is put up in a hotel room for president's use so he can hold private meetings, away from cameras or mikes
When President Barack Obama travels abroad, his staff pack briefing books, gifts for foreign leaders and something more closely associated with camping than diplomacy: a tent.
Even when Obama travels to allied nations, aides quickly set up the security tent, which has opaque sides and noise-making devices inside, in a room near his hotel suite. When the president needs to read a classified document or have a sensitive conversation, he ducks into the tent to shield himself from secret video cameras and listening devices.
US security officials demand that their bosses - not just the president, but members of Congress, diplomats, policymakers and military officers - take such precautions when travelling abroad because it is widely acknowledged that their hosts often have no qualms about snooping on their guests.
The United States has come under withering criticism in recent weeks about revelations that the National Security Agency listened in on allied leaders like Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. A panel created by Obama in August to review that practice, among other things, is scheduled to submit a preliminary report this week and a final report by the middle of next month. But US officials assume, and can cite evidence, that they get the same treatment when they travel abroad, even from European Union allies.
"No matter where you are, we are a target these days," said James Woolsey, director of central intelligence during the Clinton administration.
"No matter where we go, countries like China, Russia and much of the Arab world have assets and are trying to spy on us, so you have to think about that and take as many precautions as possible."
