Protesting civilians can bring down oppressive governments, as many thousands of Sri Lankans did over the past 100 days, as Sudanese seem to have done three times in a row, and as the “color” revolutions in Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan brought about substantial political shifts starting in 2004. But to accomplish such meaningful changes without too much bloodshed, and mostly peacefully, the protesting masses must count on soldiers (and their commanding officers) refusing to shoot -- tolerating, even approving, civilian dissent.