John F. Kennedy
JFK believed that the U.S. should enter the war in Vietnam simply because he feared that if we didn't act, the Chinese could easily take over the small country of Vietnam. He said if that happened, communism would start overtaking the middle east and south east asia. Another reason JFK said we should go to war with the communist NVA is because they sunk one of our ships out in international waters.
Lyndon B. Johnson
The Vietnam war brought out the worst in LBJ. He also believed that U.S. troops should create a defense line in Vietnam because the U.S. couldn't afford to have yet another communist country against them. He believed that if we lost all connection with South East Asia, there would be a great possibility for a nuclear war because the communists would have no apposing force stopping them from creating nuclear weapons. He believed in the fighting the war and felt he had no choice even if he didn't believe in it.
Richard M. Nixon
In general, Nixon wanted to finish the war but get it over quickly. He did not want to make the same mistakes as the president before him, Lyndon B. Johnson. Although he wanted to end the war as soon as possible, he knew that it couldn't be accomplished in a term. Nixon was the first to withdrawl any amount of troops out Vietnam. He had to handle a tough situation, please the public while fighting a successful war.
