 On December 24 , Khánh issued a declaration of independence from " foreign manipulation " , and condemned " colonialism " , explicitly accusing Taylor of <unk> his power . At the time , Khánh was also secretly negotiating with the communists , hoping to put together a peace deal so he could expel the Americans from Vietnam , although this effort did not lead anywhere in the two months before he was forced out of power . For his part , Taylor privately told Americans journalists that Khánh was expressing opposition to the US merely because he knew he had lost Washington 's confidence . Taylor said Khánh was completely <unk> and was stirring up anti @-@ American sentiment purely to try to shore up his political prospects , not because he thought US policy was harmful to South Vietnam . The US media were generally very critical of Khánh 's actions and did not blame Taylor for the <unk> . Peter <unk> of The New York Times said " It almost seems as if Viet Cong insurgents and the Saigon government conspired to make the United States feel unwelcome . " The Chicago Tribune lampooned Khánh 's junta , calling it a " parody of a government " and saying it would not survive for a week without US support and describing the generals as " <unk> men on the United States ' <unk> " . However , the New York Herald Tribune said it was dangerous to pressure South Vietnam too much , citing the instability that followed the American support for the coup against Diệm , who had resisted US advice so often . It said " The issue is not General Khánh versus General Taylor . It is whether the Vietnamese still have the will to exist as an independent state . " The newspaper said if the answer was yes , then both Washington and Saigon would have to look beyond personalities . 
