President Barack Obama is briefed on the uprising in Libya during a conference call inside a secure tent setup near his hotel suite in Rio de Janeiro, 2011. Photo: White House
Washington: When President Barack Obama travels abroad, his staff packs 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.