Besieged Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak refuses to step down. He told the 2 1/2 million strong demonstration in Tahrir Square that he intends to die in Egypt. If the protesters likewise promised to accede only over their dead bodies, I’m certain the Western press would report it as a provocation and in the interest of stability Mubarak would dutifully comply. So what’s a peaceful flash-mob to do? The spontaneously united Egyptian public may not see themselves as revolutionary avengers, but Mubarak seems resolved to play the doomed despot. First the shameful digital blackout, then unleashing his plain-clothed thugs –not counting his 30-year reign of torture and corruption– the more than a hundred peaceful petitioners killed outright this past week may already warrant calls for his head.

While you may think Mubarak has plumbed the depths of despicable last acts, the protesters are still vulnerable to his clutches. His looter/saboteurs can be unmasked as security agents, his pro-Mubarak counter-protesters revealed to be armed strike-breakers, the army soldiers can be lured over to the people’s side, but Mubarak retains the facility to direct pinpoint arrests and detentions.

Many key protest organizers are missing, and there’s time for the remainder to fall prey.

An interesting fracas has been playing out on Twitter, where help is being solicited to confirm who’s been arrested. The appeals come from alarmed participants, worried for their comrades, but curiously there is disagreement over who is or isn’t missing. That’s clue one that something’s amiss. At first glance, disinformation agents might be trying to spread confusion, but the probability is more sinister. By pretending to want confirmation of the whereabouts of particular key organizers, Mubarak’s police state can locate and pounce on them. In the chaos of the demonstrations, it won’t even look methodical. Similarly, unsuspecting protest participants are volunteering to help identify faces in particular arrest videos, in an innocent accounting of heads, without thinking it’s the sate who wants to know.

The Egyptian youth spearheading the protests are laying siege to Cairo, hoping Hosni Mubarak will eventually capitulate. Every day has presented the expectation that the massive public display would shame the dictator to resign. The planned march to his palace today was meant to be a one way storming of the Bastille.

Curiously, opposition spokesman Mohamed ElBaradei, the only prominent voice at hand, gave President Mubarak until Friday to step down. “D-day” it’s being called, which stands for departure, presumably for the English hearing media. Rome wasn’t built in a day, baby steps, etc, but I can’t help but worry that the endurance of the demonstrators will be the more sorely tried. They, not Mubarak, have to face the counter-revolutionary public reaction to the disruptive effects of a prolonged stalemate. They have to face the long knives of Mubarak’s thugs, rumored to outnumber the million man number. And they the protest leaders will disappear with the regularly of their bathroom visits, as Mubarak’s security apparatus discovers one by one who and where they are.

The Western media is already complaining that the revolution has no ascending leadership. The organizers are wise to keep their heads down. Wait and see who survives until Friday.