U.S. intelligence warned Obama of Egypt instability at end of 2010

U.S. intelligence officials warned President Barack Obama\'s administration of instability in Egypt at the end of 2010 but did not foresee what would trigger the unrest at that time, a top U.S. CIA official said on Thursday.

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Jewish Journal

February 3, 2011

U.S. intelligence officials warned President Barack Obama’s administration of instability in Egypt at the end of 2010 but did not foresee what would trigger the unrest at that time, a top U.S. CIA official said on Thursday.

Stephanie O’Sullivan, nominated to be the principal deputy director of national intelligence, asked at her Senate confirmation hearing when the U.S. intelligence community warned Obama and policymakers that protesters might threaten Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s grip on power.

“We have warned of instability,” she said. “We didn’t know what the triggering mechanism would be for that. And that happened at the end of the last year.”