| Eisenhower | brinkmanship; massive retaliation |
| Dulles | same as Eisenhower, but also wanted to fight communism quietly |
| JFK | flexible response |
| LBJ | refused to let Vietnam fall to communism, aggressive; escalates American involvement in Vietnam |
| Nixon | detente, "peace with honor" |
| Raegan | detente thing of the past; saw the fall of the Soviet Union |