Marketplace Morning Report (6:50 AM ET) June 08, 2004
Security fears run high as G-8 Summit kicks off on Sea Island off the coast of Georgia
CHERYL GLASER, anchor: From Los Angeles, this is MARKETPLACE. I'm Cheryl Glaser.
The G-8 Summit kicks off today as world leaders meet on privately owned Sea Island off the coast of Georgia. With security fears running high, the organizers chose the remote location for its inaccessibility, as Alex McRae reports.
ALEX McRAE reporting: Anti-globalization protesters used to be the concern at economic summits. Not anymore. Now it's terrorism, says security expert Gary Bertsch of the University of Georgia.
Mr. GARY BERTSCH (Security Expert, University of Georgia): It's a whole new ball game in preparing a major international summit on American soil now.
McRAE: Twenty thousand Homeland Security officers are on duty, and the Fed's already kicked in $25 million to cover costs. But that's peanuts, says John Pike with GlobalSecurity.org.
Mr. JOHN PIKE (GlobalSecurity.org): Twenty-five million dollars is chump change for security planning these days. The Olympics is going to spend more than a billion dollars on its security.
McRAE: On Sea Island, the money is going to concrete barriers, fences and military checkpoints. There's also the natural defense--local alligators--to deter intruders. In Washington, I'm Alex McRae for MARKETPLACE.
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