Khánh and the senior generals retained the real power. At the time, both Saigon and Washington were planning a large-scale bombing campaign against North Vietnam in an attempt to stop support for the Vietcong (VC) insurgency, but were waiting for stability in the south before starting the air strikes. Known for his rigid attitude towards dissent, Hương stated in his first speech upon taking office that "There must be respect for public order, and there must be national discipline" and vowed to "clean and simplify" the government, and engage in "total war" against the communists. He took a firm line against the Buddhists, announcing restrictions on public protests, accusing Thích Trí Quang of being a communist, who in turn charged Hương with being a Diệmist, and responded with mass protests against the new civilian administration, calling for its removal. Huong used the army to break up the demonstrations, resulting in violent confrontations. Khánh and some younger generals wanted to forcibly retire officers with more than 25 years of service, as they thought them to be lethargic and ineffective, but most importantly, rivals for power. Most of the older officers had more experience under the Vietnamese National Army during the French colonial era, and some of the younger men saw them as too detached from the modern situation. The HNC turned down the request to approve the policy. There was speculation the HNC did this as many of them were old, and therefore did not appreciate the generals' negativity towards seniors. On 19 December, a Saturday, the generals moved to dissolve the HNC by arresting some of its members. Hương did not speak up initially, but had actually privately endorsed the dissolution of the HNC, as both he and the "Young Turks" thought it would allow them to gain more power and influence over Khánh. The Americans were extremely angry with the generals' action, and when Ambassador Maxwell Taylor met Hương afterwards, he urged the prime minister to reject the dissolution of the HNC. Hương said he and Suu had not been notified of the moves, but agreed to step in and take over the body's work. Taylor nevertheless asked Hương to publicly condemn the coup and call on the army to release those arrested. Hương also said he would be willing to reorganize his administration to meet the wishes of the military, and that retaining their support was essential in