Aug. 27, 1964 - Three Vietnamese generals, including Maj. Gen. Nguyen Khanh (left), finally reached a provisional agreement today to “lead the nation” as a triumvirate.
Their action came shortly after Government troops opened fire to quell thousands of demonstrators who were threatening to storm military headquarters in Saigon. Six lives were lost during the day and, at nightfall, crowds were still in the streets.
With what was reliably reported to be insistent American backing, General Khanh is to remain as a caretaker Premier over a crumbling government structure.
Under the agreement, he will act in conjunction with the former chief of state, Maj. Gen. Duong Van Minh (center), and the former Defense Minister, Lieut. Gen. Tran Thien Khiem (right). The three men are supposed to hold equal power under the agreement.
After approving this shaky compromise, the Military Revolutionary Council, the country’s supreme governing body since the overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem last November, dissolved itself.
The Johnson Administration expressed hope today that law and order would be restored in South Vietnam following the creation of the triumvirate of generals, but the dominant sentiment in Washington was one of pessimism and worry. Most officials had only limited faith in the ability of the triumvirate to control the political situation for two months, until the promised time of selection of a new leader.
The intensity of the violence in Saigon also worried officials. They said the intensity gave rise to questions whether the violence represented immediate political or religious antagonisms or a deep-seated sense of frustration with the whole situation.
If the latter assessment is correct, it was said, then both Saigon and Washington must face the possibility that the entire anti-Communist war effort may collapse before long. Should that occur, it was stressed, the U.S. might be forced to reassess its whole policy in all of Southeast Asia.
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