The Tunisian army was mostly impartial, but there were instances where they actively protected protestors from the police (which gained them a lot of good faith

The Tunisian army was mostly impartial, but there were instances where they actively protected protestors from the police (which gained them a lot of good faith). And there was this rumor that Ben Ali and his close family were "tricked" by the palace guard and the military to leave the country "temporarily" because protestors were going to be closing in (which never happened). But that is exactly my point, supporters in key power positions decided that it was too much trouble to keep Ben Ali around.