Vol. 4, No. 8 March 25,.1966
JOHNSON'S FAVORITE PUPPET IN TROUBLE
- President Johnson's favorite puppet, the sleek, oily, Hitlerloving General Ky, succeeded in providing fresh evidence of the instability and weakness of his regime when he tried to jerk the rug from under Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chang Thi on March 10. If the operation was not directly inspired by Ky's "advisers," including the very top
New York, N. Y. 10010. HP
-O-
pracket in Washington, it at least had their blessing. As the New York Times put it (March 20], "At the time it seemed like a good gamble and one which had to be taken. General Thi had been an effective military and political leader and probably had more personnel support than any other general on the directory. However, he symbolized the regional autonomy which had greatly hampered the ability of the central Government [Gen. Ky] to rule."
Before it was over, the "good gamble," while perhaps still taking place in a gambling den, looked very much like Siamese twins working each other over, razors in hand.