Vietnam

I would rather be a one-term President and do what I believe is right than to be a two-term President read more

I would rather be a one-term President and do what I believe is right than to be a two-term President at the cost of seeing America become a second-rate power and to see this Nation accept the first defeat in its proud 190-year history.

The Vietnamese people deeply love independence, freedom and peace. But in the face of United States aggression they have risen read more

The Vietnamese people deeply love independence, freedom and peace. But in the face of United States aggression they have risen up, united as one man.

We have forgotten that Vietnam, and Iraq
resent being invaded and know the ground better than we do.

We have forgotten that Vietnam, and Iraq
resent being invaded and know the ground better than we do.

It [the war in Vietnam] poisons everything. It has disrupted the economy, envenomed our politics, hurt the alliance, divided our read more

It [the war in Vietnam] poisons everything. It has disrupted the economy, envenomed our politics, hurt the alliance, divided our people, and now it is interfering with this critical question of the arms race.

I am afraid [if the present trend in Vietnam continues] that direct confrontation, first of all between Washington and Peking, read more

I am afraid [if the present trend in Vietnam continues] that direct confrontation, first of all between Washington and Peking, is inevitable.

If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly read more

If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly deserves.

First thing I killed was no kind of thing at all. It was an enemy soldier. Which is a hell read more

First thing I killed was no kind of thing at all. It was an enemy soldier. Which is a hell of a lot easier to say, than the first thing I ever killed was a man.

This war in Vietnam is, I believe, a war for civilization. Certainly it is not a war of our seeking. read more

This war in Vietnam is, I believe, a war for civilization. Certainly it is not a war of our seeking. It is a war thrust upon us and we cannot yield to tyranny.

America is not fighting to win a war. We are fighting to give an application to an old Greek proverb, read more

America is not fighting to win a war. We are fighting to give an application to an old Greek proverb, which is that the purpose of war is not to annihilate an enemy but to get him to mend his ways. And we are confident we can get the enemy to mend his.

I seriously doubt if we will ever have another war. This is probably the very last one.

I seriously doubt if we will ever have another war. This is probably the very last one.