Of course the Jihads might think of them as trators that need to be replaced, and well they might not mind attacking those leaders. So nothing is ceartin just because they are there, but it does lower the odds of the G-8 Being attacked I think.
Yes, I think you are right here. An article I read yesterday said that the ME nations attending all had an interest in some form of democratization or something similar. It was an interesting piece that talked about how Bahrain, in particular, had adopted some reforms such as allowing women roles in government even though the King keeps his absolute power. I wish I could remember where I saw the article. It might have been right here on TM via a link from Cindy, JP or tmp02.