 On the same day , the Viet Cong bombed the <unk> Hotel , where US officers were <unk> , killing two Americans and injuring around 50 people , civilian <unk> and military personnel . As a result , there was a suspicion among a minority that Khánh 's junta had been behind the attack , even though the Viet Cong had claimed responsibility through a radio broadcast . When the Americans started making plans to retaliate against North Vietnam , they did not tell Khánh and his junta . Westmoreland , Taylor , and other senior US officers in Saigon and Washington urged President Lyndon <unk> Johnson to authorize reprisal bombings against North Vietnam , Taylor predicting : " Some of our local <unk> will probably disappear in enthusiasm which our action would generate . " Johnson refused and one reason was the political instability in Saigon . Johnson reasoned the international community and the American public were unlikely to believe the Viet Cong were behind the attack , feeling they would instead blame local infighting for the violence . Johnson administration officials did not conclude that the communists were responsible until four days after the attack . The State Department cabled Taylor , saying " In view of the overall confusion in Saigon " , public US and international opinion towards an American air strike would be that the Johnson administration was " trying to shoot its way out of an internal [ South Vietnamese ] political crisis " . 
