Le Quang Tung - U.S. Sanctions

U.S. Sanctions

See also: Cable 243, Krulak Mendenhall mission, and McNamara Taylor mission

Following the pagoda raids, the U.S. began exploring the possibility of replacing Diệm. Cable 243 informed the US embassy to look for alternative leadership if Diệm did not remove Nhu. In September, the Krulak Mendenhall mission was despatched to South Vietnam to analyse the domestic situation and the war against the communists. One of the resulting suggestions was to terminate funding of the special forces as an expression of disapproval of Tung and Nhu's actions. Another was to run covert campaigns to discredit Tung. The Krulak Mendenhall mission ended in a stalemate, so the Kennedy administration followed up with the McNamara Taylor mission. The second expedition resulted in the suspension of funding for the special forces until they were placed under the command of the army's Joint General Staff (JGS) and sent into battle.

The McNamara Taylor mission's report noted that one of the reasons for sending Tung's men into the field was because they "are a continuing support for Diệm". The Americans were aware that removing the special forces from Saigon would increase the chances that a coup would succeed, thereby encouraging the army to overthrow the president. Diệm and Nhu were undeterred by the suspension of aid, keeping Tung and his men in the capital. In private talks with US officials, Diệm insisted that the army was responsible for the pagoda attacks and that Tung's men were already under the control of the JGS.