WarSclerotic

CAIRO, Egypt – Jubilant pro-democracy demonstrators and gun-toting soldiers rode together atop tanks into this capital city’s main square Saturday in an extraordinary show of solidarity, even as President Hosni Mubarak took steps to engineer a possible transfer of power to one of his closest confidants.

After four days of nationwide battles between protesters and police, the tens of thousands of Egyptians who have taken to the streets to demand an end to Mubarak’s 30-year rule got an unexpected endorsement when the military declined to block their latest rally. Instead, soldiers flashed peace signs and smiled approvingly as demonstrators chanted, “Down with Mubarak!”

When protesters attempted to mount one of the tanks, the troops invited more aboard, until an entire convoy was covered, leading the crowd to cheer mightily.

It remains to be seen whether Saturday’s gestures reflected a military endorsement of the protesters’ demand, or simply an attempt by commanders to defuse tensions and buy time for Mubarak to consolidate control and put in a plan of succession.

Mubarak, 82, owes much of his authority to the military, and on Saturday he made critical appointments that could signal his intent to keep power within the security establishment. Most critically, Mubarak for the first time named a vice president — an apparent step toward setting up a successor other than his son Gamal, whom he had appeared to be grooming for the post.

But Mubarak’s pick, intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, is widely despised among demonstrators, who this week have demanded the chance to choose their own president in national elections.

If Mubarak should resign and hand control to Suleiman, it is unlikely protesters will be appeased. Still, success in driving Mubarak out would be a monumental achievement for a movement that has spread spontaneously across the nation since Tuesday as Egyptians, long accustomed to quietly accepting authority rise up in full-throated reaction.

Reverberations extended across the Middle East on Saturday. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia denounced Egypt’s protests for “inciting a malicious sedition,” while in Jordan the leader of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood warned that the unrest would spread across the region to topple leaders allied with the United States. In Yemen, a small anti-government protest turned violent as demonstrators clashed with security forces.

In Washington, a White House spokesman said President Barack Obama was receiving frequent updates from his national security staff. The National Security Council convened a two-hour meeting to discuss the situation, and participants included Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden, the White House said.

Led by a series of three strong-arm rulers since 1952, Egypt has no experience with genuine democracy, and it is unclear who would triumph in a fair and free election.

This week’s movement has had no visible central leadership from any individual or group. While the Muslim Brotherhood is the nation’s largest opposition party, analysts say it has the support of only a minority of Egyptians.

Protesters have been noticeably secular, saying they do not want Islamic law imposed after years of living under Mubarak’s emergency rule, and the Muslim Brotherhood has played only a marginal role in demonstrations.

A successful democratic movement in Egypt would probably have far-reaching implications across the Middle East, which is now dominated by unelected autocrats but which has long taken its political and cultural cues from Cairo.

Since Tunisians ousted their longtime dictator this month, imitators have sprung up across the Arab world.

In Tunisia, however, democracy advocates have said they believe their revolution is only partially complete, as many of the former president’s loyalists remain in power.

Here, too, demonstrators say they are seeking a total break with a government that they charge has ruled this country ineptly and criminally, with economic benefits clustered in the hands of a corrupt and powerful elite while a majority of the population endures grinding poverty.

Police have used tear gas, water cannons and bullets to disperse protesters, and on Saturday authorities said at least 62 had died in the demonstrations. It was not possible to verify the casualties.

But the police pulled back Friday night as the army rolled in. With soldiers under apparent orders to allow the protests to proceed, Saturday’s demonstrations were far more orderly than on any previous day.

Still, without hindrance from police, looters fanned out across the capital and the well-to-do suburbs, smashing windows, stealing merchandise and setting fires. In some areas, residents armed with clubs launched vigilante patrols. In downtown Cairo, shopkeepers said they would sleep in their stores to try to fend off would-be thieves.

“If they come to my store, I’ll shoot them,” Izz Mohammed, 54, said as he flashed a pistol and a fresh clip of ammunition under his suit jacket.

Government authorities blamed protesters run amok for the breakdown of law and order. But demonstrators claimed that the ruling National Democratic Party was sending plainclothes loyalists to sow anarchy in a bid to discredit the burgeoning democracy movement and to justify what protesters fear would be a merciless crackdown.

“Mubarak wants chaos,” said Sayed Abdel el-Hakim, a 30-year-old math teacher.

Protesters held aloft banners reading, “Don’t burn Egypt,” and some bragged of having guarded the famed Egyptian Museum from looters until army commandos arrived on the scene Friday night.

The museum appeared unscathed Saturday, even as the wreckage of the National Democratic Party headquarters — Mubarak’s political home — continued to billow thick black smoke. Both buildings face Tahrir Square, and they provided the backdrop at dusk Saturday as thousands of Egyptians streamed into Cairo’s central plaza.