20110205
reuters

MUNICH (Reuters) - The Middle East faces a "perfect storm" of unrest and regional leaders must quickly enact real democratic reforms or risk even greater instability, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday.

Clinton, speaking at a security conference in Munich, said lack of political reform, coupled with a growing young population and new Internet technologies, threatened the old order in a region crucial to U.S. security.

"The region is being battered by a perfect storm of powerful trends," Clinton said. "This is what has driven demonstrators into the streets of Tunis, Cairo, and cities throughout the region. The status quo is simply not sustainable."

Clinton's speech did not discuss in detail the political unrest in Egypt, which many analysts say is dominating discussions behind the scenes at the Munich conference which brings together a number of leaders, lawmakers and analysts.

But she underscored Washington's new public push for speedy political reform among its Middle East allies, which include not only Egypt and Jordan but global oil giant Saudi Arabia and Yemen, an impoverished state now central to the U.S.-led war against al Qaeda.

"This is not simply a matter of idealism; it is a strategic necessity. Without genuine progress toward open and accountable political systems, the gap between people and their governments will grow, and instability will only deepen. All of our interests will be at risk," she said.

The Obama administration has repeatedly urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to prepare for an "orderly transition" from power amid more than a week of unprecedented mass protests against his 30-year rule.

Obama himself, in his most pointed comments to date, urged Mubarak on Friday to "make the right decision" -- though he again stopped short of publicly demanding that Mubarak step down immediately as the Egyptian protesters demand.