SECRETARY CLINTON WAS PRESCIENT

Well before the unrest in Tunisia and Egypt, Sec. Clinton warned Middle East leaders that lack of necessary political reforms would lead to unrest and possibly violence.

Clinton Rips Arabs on Lack of Reform

JANUARY 14, 2011

By JAY SOLOMON
Wall Street Journal

DOHA, Qatar—Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, adopting a tone reminiscent of the Bush administration, blasted Arab governments for stalled political change, warning that extremists were exploiting a lack of democracy to promote radical agendas across the Middle East.

"While some countries have made great strides in governance, in many others, people have grown tired of corrupt institutions and a stagnant political order," she told the Forum for the Future, an annual dialogue established by the George W. Bush administration following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. "The region's foundations are sinking into the sand."

Filling the vacuum, she said, are "extremist elements, terrorist groups and others who would prey off desperation and poverty."