Editing Dương Văn Minh (section)

==August and September power struggle with Khánh==
{{Main|September 1964 South Vietnamese coup attempt}}
In August, Khánh drafted a new constitution, which would have augmented his personal power and hamstrung Minh of what authority he had left as well as ousting him from power. However, this only served to weaken Khánh as large urban demonstrations broke out, led by Buddhists, calling for an end to the state of emergency and the new constitution.<ref name=vt>Karnow, pp. 394–395</ref> In response to claims that he was harking back to the Diệm era of Roman Catholic domination, Khánh made concessions to the Buddhists, sparking opposition from Khiêm and Thiệu, both Catholics. They then tried to remove him in favour of Minh, and they recruited many officers.<ref name=mo762>Moyar, p. 762</ref> Khiêm and Thiệu sought out Taylor and sought a private endorsement to install Minh by staging a coup against Khánh, but the US ambassador did not want any more changes in leadership, fearing a corrosive effect on the government. This deterred Khiêm's group from staging a coup.<ref name=mo763>Moyar (2006), p. 763</ref>

The division among the generals came to a head at a meeting of the MRC on 26–27 August. Khánh and Khiêm blamed one another for the increasing unrest across the nation.<ref name=m318>Moyar (2006), p. 318</ref> Thiệu and another Catholic, General [[Nguyễn Hữu Có]], called for the replacement of Khánh with Minh, but the latter refused. Minh reportedly claimed that Khánh was the only one who would get financial assistance from Washington, so they supported him, prompting Khiêm to angrily say, "Obviously, Khánh is a puppet of the U.S. government, and we are tired of being told by the Americans how we should run our internal affairs".<ref name=m318/> Khánh said that he would resign, but no agreement over the leadership could be found,<ref name=m318/> and after more arguing between the senior officers, on 27 August they agreed that Khánh, Minh, and Khiêm would rule as a triumvirate for two months, until a new civilian government could be formed.<ref name=mo763/> The trio then brought paratroopers into Saigon to end the rioting. However, the triumvirate did little due to their disunity. Khánh dominated the decision-making and sidelined Khiêm and Minh.<ref name=mo763/>

On 13 September, Generals [[Lâm Văn Phát]] and [[Dương Văn Đức]], both Roman Catholics demoted by Khánh after Buddhist pressure, launched a coup attempt with the support of Catholic elements. After a one-day stand-off the [[putsch]] failed.<ref>Kahin, pp. 229–232</ref> During the coup, Minh had remained aloof from the proceedings, angering Khánh and keeping their long-running rivalry going. By the end of October, the Johnson administration became more supportive of Taylor's negative opinion of Minh and concluded that US interests would be optimized if Khánh prevailed in the power struggle. As a result, the Americans eventually paid for Minh to go on a "good will tour" so that he could be pushed off the political scene without embarrassment, while Khiêm was exiled to Washington as an ambassador after being implicated in the coup.<ref name=kh232>Kahin, p. 232</ref>

A short while earlier in September, before Minh was sent overseas, the junta decided to create a semblance of civilian rule by creating the High National Council (HNC), an appointed advisory body that was to begin the transitional to constitutional rule. Khánh put Minh in charge of picking the 17 members of the group, and he filled it with figures sympathetic to him. They then made a resolution to recommend a model with a powerful head of state, which would likely be Minh. Khánh did not want his rival taking power, so he and the Americans convinced the HNC to dilute the power inherent in the position to make it unappealing to Minh.<ref name=m328>Moyar, p. 328</ref> The HNC then selected [[Phan Khắc Sửu]] as chief of state, and Sửu selected Trần Văn Hương as prime minister, although the junta remained the real power.<ref>Moyar, pp. 765–766</ref> By the end of the year, Minh was back in Vietnam after his tour.<ref name=k398>Karnow, p. 398</ref>

===Khánh prevails===
{{Main|December 1964 South Vietnamese coup}}
Khánh and a group of younger officers decided to forcibly retire officers with more than 25 years of service, such as Minh and the other generals deposed in Khánh's January coup; nominally this was because they thought them to be lethargic and ineffective, but tacitly, and far more importantly, because they were potential rivals for power.<ref name=mo769>Moyar (2004), p. 769</ref> According to Khánh and the Young Turks, this older group was led by Minh and had been crafting plots with the Buddhists to regain power.<ref name=k398/><ref name=versus/>

Sửu's signature was required to pass the ruling, but he referred the matter to the HNC,<ref name=versus>{{cite magazine|title=South Viet Nam: The U.S. v. the Generals|date=1 January 1965|magazine=Time}}</ref> which turned down the request.<ref name=m344>Moyar (2006), p. 344</ref> On 19 December, the generals dissolved the HNC; several of its members, other politicians and student leaders were arrested,<ref name=versus/><ref name=s294>Shaplen, p. 294</ref> while Minh and the other older generals were arrested and flown to [[Pleiku]], and later removed from the military.<ref name=k398/>