The Americans decided that while they wanted Khánh out, they did not approve of Thảo and Phát, and their polarizing policies, so they began to lobby Kỳ and Thi, the two most powerful officers apart from Khánh, to defeat both sides. While Kỳ used air power to stop the two sides from confrontation by threatening to bomb them if they opened fire,Kahin, p. 302. the Americans consulted with Thi and General Cao Văn Viên, the commander of III Corps surrounding Saigon. They wanted Thi and Vien to assemble units hostile to both Khánh and the rebels into a Capital Liberation Force. The Americans provided Thi with a plane so that he could fly in from his I Corps headquarters in Đà Nẵng to lead ground forces against both Khanh and the rebels.
