the momentum petered out due to the lack of unity in the ruling triumvirate. Khánh dominated the decision-making, sidelining Khiêm and Minh. Khánh blamed Khiêm for organizing a failed coup attempt led by Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức on 13 September. General Huynh Van Cao, a Catholic and former Diệm loyalist, claimed in a 1972 newspaper interview that Khiêm, by then prime minister, had asked him to join the coup. Cao claimed that he declined Khiêm's invitation, mildly mocking him by asking "You're part of the 'Troika' now ... won't you be overthrowing yourself?", and pointing out that a political upheaval in Saigon would be a bad idea because Vietnam was prominent during the ongoing US presidential election campaign and negative publicity could lead to weakening US public and political support for South Vietnam. Khiêm's lack of public action was seen as tacit support for the coup; A US Embassy log during the coup claimed that the Thiệu and Khiêm "seem so passive that they appear to have been either tacitly supporting or associated with his move by Đức and Phát", and that Khiêm had "issued expressions of firm support for Khánh somewhat belatedly", as control was eventually reestablished. Plotting from overseas By the end of the year, Khánh had prevailed in the power struggle with Khiêm and Minh. He despatched Khiêm to Washington as ambassador, being convinced Khiêm was destabilizing Saigon. In late December 1964, Khánh summoned Thảo back to Saigon. Thảo suspected Khánh was attempting to have him killed, while Khánh thought that Thảo and Khiêm were plotting against him. Fearing that he would be arrested upon arrival, Thảo attempted to outmanoeuvre Khánh and went underground to plot. In the meantime, Khiêm had been putting pressure on Khánh while serving as his ambassador by charging he and the Buddhists with seeking a "neutralist solution" and "negotiating with the communists". In January 1965, the junta-appointed Prime Minister Trần Văn Hương introduced a series of measures to expand the military and war effort by widening the terms of conscription. This provoked widespread anti-Hương demonstrations and riots across the country, mainly from conscription-aged students and pro-negotiations Buddhists. Reliant on Buddhist support, Khánh decided to have the armed forces take over. On 27 January, he removed Hương in a bloodless coup. Khánh's deposal of Hương nullified a counter-plot involving Hương that had developed during the civil disorders. In an