Thanks Danny,
When I studied sieges way back in the day, a few commonalities came to light as they are a stark warning for the United States of today:
1. Those within the walls often find themselves fighting each other rather than the hostile forces surrounding them...old wounds and divisions fester, threatening a civil war.
Rational thinking is supplanted by the constant anxiety and subsequent enervating 'fight or flight' syndrome.
2. There is always a traitor...an Iago to use Shakespeare's 'Othello' if you will, who lets the barbarians in through the gates.
3. Superstition and omens play a significant role amongst those desperate to forestall the distancing of hope...on both sides: think of Joan of Arc and the siege of Orleans. (Your spear of Longinus).
4. That the siege mentality can often be an apt metaphor for any empire in decline.
Ergo: the collapse of the American Empire.
* Building real and metaphorical walls, cutting the Empire off from the outside world, peopled with often rapacious, creative and more united if not sophisticated Empires.
The leaders of the encircled Empire stagnate, as does the empire.
Behind a shield of fading exceptionalism, fear of life beyond the walls becomes the weapon of choice amongst the Empire's citizenry. Suspicion rules discourse.
* The elite spend more and more of the Empire's money on entitlement and privilege, widening the divide, robbing expenditures meant for infrastructure to build more 'gated communities' behind the walls. This can lead to a revolt by the slaves/plebes/underclasses.
* There is often one last military gasp-grasp or misadventure.
Even more money is diverted from civil infrastructure to pay for this and the Mercenaries who are hired, as the sons of the elite do not want to fight and risk their lives.
Hello Iraq and Afghanistan and the lack of any of current President's children serving in the military, the state of highways, public education and disaster planning.
* Many trapped behind the walls turn to religion as sanctuary and prepare for the rapturous end times if prophecy and omens turn against them.
*The traitor seeks to enrich himself and build an exit plan to retire beyond the reach of his betrayed 'people' as well as the conquering forces to whom he has allied himself. Quite often since he and his enablers had betrayed their own people, the traitor was considered unreliable and was often himself betrayed and killed.
* Both Sun Tzu and Machiavelli wrote extensively about sieges and the use of traitors as well as spies.
Lastly, your excellent analysis should hopefully be an apt comparison to what is happening in the US today: a culture unknowingly trapped behind walls they cannot see, 'led' by a traitor masquerading as a Christian, enabled by those whose wish is to enrich themselves at the expense of their lesser citizens.
Or even by religiously supporting such a President, hasten the apocalypse or end times.
All irony intended: God help us.
And even though I have the 49th Parallel as bulwark, the winds of war often never recognize borders and so I fear for both Canada and the United States, especially after next Tuesday.
He will not 'go gently into that good night', he will drag many Americans and their allies down with him.