Obama had ordered secret report to identify potential Middle East uprisings

Washington, Feb 17(ANI): United States President Barack Obama had ordered his advisers in August last year to produce a secret report on the unrest in the Middle East, officials have said.

According to the New York Times, the report concluded that without sweeping political changes, countries from Bahrain to Yemen were ripe for popular revolt.

The officials said that the administration kept the project secret because it worried that if word leaked out, Arab allies would pressure the White House.

They also said that the White House held weekly meetings with experts from the State Department, the C.I.A. and other agencies.

The process was led by Dennis B. Ross, the President's senior adviser on the Middle East, Samantha Power, a senior director at the National Security Council who handles human rights issues and Gayle Smith, a senior director responsible for global development, the paper said.

"There's no question Egypt was very much on the mind of the president," said a senior official, who helped draft the report.

"You had all the unknowns created by Egypt's succession picture - and Egypt is the anchor of the region," the official added. (ANI)