 The incident provoked reactions from both the Buddhists and the Diệm regime . A monk called on the US embassy to send a military unit from the American advisors already present in Vietnam to Xá Lợi Pagoda , the main Buddhist temple in Saigon and the organisational hub of the Buddhist movement . The monk claimed that the attack on Arnett indicated that Xá Lợi 's monks were targets of assassination by Nhu 's men , something that Trueheart rejected , turning down the protection request . Xá Lợi and other Buddhist centers across the country were raided a month later by Special Forces under the direct control of the Ngo family . On the part of the South Vietnamese government , the de facto first lady Madame Nhu used her English @-@ language mouthpiece newspaper , the Times of Vietnam , to accuse the United States of supporting the failed coup attempt against Diem in 1960 . 
