Reports from Sana’a indicate a sense of guarded optimism that a deal to end the violence Yemen might be at hand. Apparently, the remaining point to be agreed upon by beleaguered President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the opposition is who will control the armed forces during the transition period. There have been at three occasions when Saleh, who has ruled for 33-years, reneged at the last moment on a deal appeared to be set, so no one is overly optimistic that it will go through this time. But Saleh’s position dramatically weakened over the weekend when hundreds of troops belonging to the elite Republican Guard defected to the opposition. A United Nations envoy is mediating a plan put forth by the Gulf States that would ease Saleh from power and set his vice-president as caretaker president until elections can be held. Saleh wants to retain control of the army during his final days as president, but the opposition is asking that a committee be established to run the military until the presidential election.