Protest Tactics in Egypt

For those of us who hope for a free, peaceful Egypt, it is interesting to ponder the significance of street level tactics in determining the political outcome. There are other factors, of course, but if the pro-Mubarak protestors had beaten back the anti-Mubarak protestors last week, this could well have caused the anti-Mubarak movement to lose momentum and go the way of Iran's aborted protests.

Via Delta's D&D Hotspot, I learned of a blog post by the War Nerd, who provides an analysis of street-level tactics in Egypt as seen through the lens of military history. I should warn you that the analysis of this "War Nerd" fellow is laced with slurs and foul language, which is unfortunate (and a mark against his maturity as a human being), but having said that his discussion is quite insightful, and definitely worth thinking about for those who support protest movements like those in Egypt, Burma, and elsewhere. When the military stands by, the tactics used on the street are basically a re-creation of the tactics used in the Middle Ages by cavalry and infantry (including the cavalry charge, skirmishers, the testudo or shield wall, and so on).