Low Ky

In the year and a half since he vaulted from the cockpit of a fighter-bomber to become South Viet Nam's Premier, Northern-born Nguyen Cao Ky, 36, has shown a remarkable adaptability to the art of Asian politics. His handling of the Buddhist "struggle" crisis last spring showed expert timing. His Cabinet-level downgrading of ambitious "Southerners" has been deft and sometimes subtle. His trip to Australia and New Zealand, despite demonstrations against him, generally created a surprisingly good impression. Unlike such predecessors as Big Minh and Nguyen Khanh, the flamboyant, purple-scarfed aviator has been remarkably low key in his power plays. Last week Ky's cool tactics canceled a major threat to his country's stability. At a remove of 6,000 miles, Ky undercut and exiled his Deputy Premier and Defense Minister, Southern-born Lieut. General Nguyen Huu Co, 41.

Poker & Capital. Co was one of the 13 generals whose junta replaced the Diem regime in November 1963, and one of the ten who put Ky in power in June 1965. A tough field commander who led one of France's prized groupements mobiles during the Indo-China war, Co apparently found the temptations of power too appealing. With a base pay of $177 a month, he acquired three villas in Saigon and property worth an estimated $600,000 near Tan Son Nhut Airport. Go's wealth, it was said, came from payoffs by officers who wanted safe sinecures and from his collection of up to $3,400 apiece from wealthy draft dodgers. Go's wife is a poker addict, and Saigon gossips delight in repeating the remark that she made after dropping $8,500 at the table: "I lost a dozen draftees." Moreover, Co presented a constant threat to Ky as a power around whom dissidents could gather.

Late last year Ky fired Delta Commander General Dang Van Quang, a Southerner and a friend of General Go's, who also bore a strong aroma of corruption. He hesitated about firing Co only because any outright dismissal might precipitate an internal Cabinet dispute. As a Southerner, Co could easily cry prejudice if Northerner Ky canned him. As Ky remarked to one American recently: "Before I can fire even a driver, I have to check with eight generals and their families."

Apprehension & Exile. Ky decided on a subtle ploy. On the same day that he took off for Australia and New Zealand last month, he sent Co to Taiwan, ostensibly to attend a ceremony opening direct air service from Taipei to Saigon. The decision to dismiss Co had already been made at a meeting of the military Directory a few days before, and Ky did not want Co around Saigon to spark any possible retaliatory coup in his absence. When the news of Go's downfall broke in Saigon, both the Premier and his enemy were well clear of the scene.

In the past, such a dismissal of a high official might have set fighter planes to circling the capital and tanks rumbling through the streets. As it developed, Ky continued his tour Down Under, returning to Saigon only a day earlier than planned. Co at first wanted to fly back to Saigon, but was warned that he would stand trial if he did; soldiers waited at the Saigon airport to intercept him, but he never came. Seeing that he had been outfoxed, he stayed in Hong Kong. There he awaited a diplomatic assignment to some distant post--possibly Iran, South Korea or the Ivory Coast. This is a practice favored for troublesome generals; in fact, only a third of South Viet Nam's generals are now on military duty. As Go's replacement in the defense ministry, Ky named Laotian-born Lieut. General Cao Van Vien, 46, one of the most professionally respected officers in the South Vietnamese army.

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