I don't believe in reincarnation but I DO believe in rebirth (there is a subtle difference). Reincarnation would mean that "you", i.e., your soul, would be passed on from one body to the next, but in rebirth what is passed on is, for want of a better word, an essence of one's previous life, i.e. through karmic influence a "flux" of what was "us" is passed over, i.e. not a soul as such but an "energy" which is as much subject to change as anything else is.
I have studied this subject for many years - including prior to becoming a JW - and picked the subject back up once I left Watchtower. If you ever get chance, read the life story of the Dalai Lama, such as Freedom in Exile - the autobiography of the Dalai Lama of Tibet or In Exile from the Land of the Snows by John F. Avedon or The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. The first two books highlight tests the Dalai Lama underwent as a young boy to prove he was the "reincarnation" of the 13th Dalai Lama (the present Dalai Lama is the 14th). The third books highlights how this life should be viewed as a training ground for our deaths.
It is my confidence in rebirth that keeps my head up when I am battling with the heinous disease I contracted a couple of years back, which is virtually every day!
Complete enlightenment is the ultimate goal of the Buddhist, the aim being to STOP being reborn continuously. Let's face it, life is suffering. Happiness is only ever transient and to be reborn merely puts us back into a position where suffering is sure to touch us. By becoming enlightened we are able to stop the continual cycle of our rebirth and, hence, suffering. Personally, I should like to achieve complete enlightenment but be reborn for the benefit of others, which is why the Dalai Lama and other Boddhisattvas are reborn. We need enlightened ones to show us the way out of this continual cycle of suffering known as Samsara.
The beauty of Buddhism is that one works out one's own salvation. One doesn't depend on an almighty God - and Buddhism does NOT conflict with science (see The Universe in a Single Atom by the Dalai Lama).
Sincere metta (loving kindness),
Ian