 Taylor summoned Khánh to his office , but the Vietnamese leader sent Thi , Kỳ , Thiệu and Admiral Chung Tấn Cang , the commander of the Republic of Vietnam Navy , instead . Taylor asked the four to sit down and then said " Do all of you understand English ? " The ambassador then angrily denounced the officers . According to Stanley Karnow , Taylor " launched into a <unk> , scolding them as if he were still superintendent of West Point and they a group of cadets caught cheating " . He said " I told you all clearly at General Westmoreland 's dinner we Americans were tired of coups . Apparently I wasted my words . " He decried the removal of the HNC as " totally illegal " , and said it had " destroyed the government @-@ making process " , and that " I made it clear that all the military plans I know you would like to carry out are dependent on government stability " , something he felt had been lost with the dismissal of the HNC . He said " ... you have made a real mess . We cannot carry you forever if you do things like this . " Taylor believed the HNC to be an essential part of the government , because as an American , he believed civilian legitimacy was a must . For him , the HNC was a necessary step in a progression towards an elected civilian legislature , which he regarded as critical for national and military morale . The historian Mark <unk> regarded Taylor 's intervention as unnecessary , and noted that there had been many instances of fierce fighting in Vietnamese history despite the complete absence of democracy throughout the nation 's history . Taylor also reminded them of an earlier meeting where he had discussed an American plan to expand the war , increase funding for the South Vietnamese military , and to go on the offensive against the communists at the request of Khánh . Taylor said the Americans would not be able to help Saigon pursue their desired military strategy if the political machinations did not stop . Taylor said that if the military did not transfer some powers or advisory capacity back to the HNC or another civilian institution , aid would be withheld , and some planned military operations against the Ho Chi Minh trail — which was being used to infiltrate communists into the south — would be suspended . 
