Politics
Obama hosts G8 leaders at Camp David summit
The leaders kick off the summit with a dinner tonight before retiring to private cottages on the compound.
After a packed schedule of sessions on Saturday, they’ll then jet off to Chicago for meetings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In contrast to the peace and quiet of isolated Camp David, where small numbers of protesters are kilometres away in Thurmont, Md., thousands of demonstrators are expected to greet them in the so-called Windy City.
At both the G8 and NATO summits, Afghanistan’s economic future and security will be a key topic of discussion.
The U.S. doesn’t want to be entirely on the hook for the estimated US$4.1 billion it will cost to sustain Afghan security forces when international troops withdraw at the end of 2014.
Australia, Great Britain and Germany have already contributed funds but Canadian officials wouldn’t say in advance of the G8 summit whether the government of Canada plans to pony up too.
“We want progress towards a state that is not a threat to global security and one that is able to take care of its own security,” Andrew MacDougall, a spokesman for the prime minister, said Thursday.
“So we do expect a good discussion on how best to achieve that. The government is still considering its options.”
