were futile. Shortly after midnight, the Special Forces of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam loyal to Nhu raided pagodas across the country, vandalising, looting and in some cases detonating them, arresting around 1400 monks and nuns. Up to 400 civilians disappeared or were killed trying to repel the invaders from the temples. Bửu Hội went to Gia Long Palace at the end of August to take leave and return to his laboratory. At the time, the United Nations had been strongly condemning the actions of Diệm's regime. When Nhu told him (in French: "You have left me in the shit"), Hội agreed to defend Saigon at the UN in New York on the condition that a fact-finding mission would be allowed to enter the country and freely see the truth for themselves. United States Bửu Hội arrived in New York in the middle of September 1963. The American public had a highly unfavourable view of South Vietnam, due to the self-immolations and pagoda attacks. U Thant, the Buddhist Burmese who was the Secretary General of the United Nations sharply criticised the Vietnamese government, saying that there was no country so chaotic and deteriorating. The campaign against the Diệm regime was overtly led by Ceylon, but Saigon felt that Cambodia had been stirring up animosity among the Asian countries, having already broken off diplomatic relations after the raids. The UN session started on 17 September and Hội met with the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Charles Yost, two days later. Bửu Hội contended that the Buddhist movement had transformed into a political movement to overthrow Diệm and claiming that media reports transmitted to America were inaccurate. Yost asserted that irrespective of what was happening, the situation was intolerable and that Diệm had to address it. Bửu Hội thought that implementing the five point plan Diệm signed in June but never intended to implement was the key. Bửu Hội acknowledged that anti-Buddhist discrimination in Vietnam was real. Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., the U.S. Ambassador in Saigon, described Hội's proposed solution as "oversimplified". Bửu Hội outlined a plan to the United States' representatives to the United Nations to avoid a full-scale debate on South Vietnam in the General Assembly. He revealed that South Vietnam would reject a formal inquiry mission as interference in domestic affairs, but would try to seize the initiative to invite a fact finding mission. He reasoned