Khánh 's defiance of Taylor saw his approval rise among the fellow generals , as the ambassador 's actions were seen as being an insult to the nation . On the night of 23 December , Khánh convinced his colleagues to join him in lobbying Hương to declare Taylor '' persona non grata '' and expel him from South Vietnam . They were confident that Hương could not reject them and side with a foreign power at the expense of the military that installed him , and made preparations to meet him the next day . However , someone in the junta was a CIA informant and reported the incident , allowing representatives of Washington to individually lobby the officers to change their stance . The next day , the generals changed their mind and when they called on Huong at his office , only called on him to formally denounce Taylor 's behaviour in his meeting with Khánh and his quartet and to " take appropriate measures to preserve the honor of all the Vietnamese armed forces and to keep national prestige intact " . On the same day , the Việt Cộng bombed the Brinks Hotel , where United States officers were billeted . 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
Việt Cộng bombed the Brinks Hotel
1964 Brinks Hotel bombing
Nguyễn Khánh