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Donald Rumsfeld Quotes

American captain and politician, Birth: 9-7-1932 Donald Rumsfeld Quotes
1.
Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers - they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.
Donald Rumsfeld

2.
The Secretary of Defense is not a super General or Admiral. His task is to exercise civilian control over the Department for the Commander-in-Chief and the country.
Donald Rumsfeld

3.
Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
Donald Rumsfeld

4.
Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
Donald Rumsfeld

5.
We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad.
Donald Rumsfeld

Similar Authors: Barack Obama Thomas Jefferson Hillary Clinton George W. Bush Winston Churchill Abraham Lincoln Ronald Reagan Theodore Roosevelt John F. Kennedy Vladimir Putin Bernie Sanders Adolf Hitler George Washington Nelson Mandela Francis Bacon
6.
We know where they are [Iraq's weapons of mass destruction]. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.
Donald Rumsfeld

7.
They will do more whether we do what we're doing or whether we don't do what we're doing. And the idea that you could appease them [terrorists] by stopping doing what we're doing or some implication that by doing what we're doing we're inciting them to attack us is just utter nonsense. It's just - it's kind of like feeding an alligator, hoping it eats you last.
Donald Rumsfeld

8.
We do know of certain knowledge that he [Osama Bin Laden] is either in Afghanistan, or in some other country, or dead.
Donald Rumsfeld

Quote Topics by Donald Rumsfeld: People Iraq President Country War Thinking Decision Mass Destruction World Trying Wmd May Mistake Jobs Believe House Moving Ifs Government Stupid Responsibility Giving Leadership Goal Knows Looks Hussein Views Men Running
9.
We do know that the Iraqi regime has chemical and biological weapons. His regime has amassed large, clandestine stockpiles of chemical weapons - including VX, sarin, cyclosarin and mustard gas. His regime has amassed large, clandestine stockpiles of biological weapons—including anthrax and botulism toxin, and possibly smallpox.
Donald Rumsfeld

10.
There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know.
Donald Rumsfeld

11.
Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
Donald Rumsfeld

12.
If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
Donald Rumsfeld

13.
Look for what's missing. Many advisors can tell a President how to improve what's proposed or what's gone amiss. Few are able to see what isn't there.
Donald Rumsfeld

14.
Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.
Donald Rumsfeld

15.
Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
Donald Rumsfeld

16.
The most underestimated risk for a politician is overexposure.
Donald Rumsfeld

17.
Success tends to go not to the person who is error-free, because he also tends to be risk-averse. Rather it goes to the person who recognizes that life is pretty much a percentage business. It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task.
Donald Rumsfeld

18.
Listening to both sides does not necessarily bring about a correct judgment.
Donald Rumsfeld

19.
No terror state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Donald Rumsfeld

20.
Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps engender the support decisions need to be successfully implemented.
Donald Rumsfeld

21.
Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.
Donald Rumsfeld

22.
The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize. It's to change the behavior of the people that are being terrorized.
Donald Rumsfeld

23.
Don't say 'the White House wants.' Buildings can't want.
Donald Rumsfeld

24.
You can have a broad popular democracy movement and have it end being taken over by the most vicious people and the result is you don't end up with free political systems or free economic systems, you end up with a handful of radicals controlling the country.
Donald Rumsfeld

25.
If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.
Donald Rumsfeld

26.
Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
Donald Rumsfeld

27.
We [the USA] do have a big nation's problem. We have the problem of a nation that's got two oceans, oceans on either side. People come from all across the globe and want to live here and they want to work here and they want to invest here. And that's a good thing. And they make up this country. But as a people, we [americans] are not highly skilled in languages. We're not highly skilled in knowledge of other cultures. And that's a problem.
Donald Rumsfeld

28.
When business accepts help from the government, it can be like going to bed with a hippopotamus. It's nice and warm for the moment, but then your bedmate rolls over and crushes you.
Donald Rumsfeld

29.
Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal.
Donald Rumsfeld

30.
Don't blame the boss. He has enough problems.
Donald Rumsfeld

31.
To gain support in U.S. Congress and from other nations requires clarity, an acceptable mission and an explicit outcome.
Donald Rumsfeld

32.
Don't divide the world into "them" and "us."
Donald Rumsfeld

33.
Many people around the President have sizeable egos before entering government, some with good reason. Their new positions will do little to moderate their egos.
Donald Rumsfeld

34.
Think ahead. Don't let day-to-day operations drive out planning.
Donald Rumsfeld

35.
Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was - by a taxpayer.
Donald Rumsfeld

36.
Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.
Donald Rumsfeld

37.
Your performance depends on your people. Select the best, train them and back them. When errors occur, give sharper guidance. If errors persist or if the fit feels wrong, help them move on. The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House.
Donald Rumsfeld

38.
Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
Donald Rumsfeld

39.
You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be responsible. Give them authority and hold them accountable. Trying to do too much yourself creates a bottleneck.
Donald Rumsfeld

40.
The problem is the people who tend to be the best organized are the most radical and the most vicious.
Donald Rumsfeld

41.
You might be a cunning linguist, but I am a master debater.
Donald Rumsfeld

42.
Keep your sense of humor. As General Joe Stillwell said, 'The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind'.
Donald Rumsfeld

43.
If you try to please everybody, somebody's not going to like it.
Donald Rumsfeld

44.
Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.
Donald Rumsfeld

45.
In 2003, at the time I made my "Old Europe" comment, the center of gravity in NATO and Europe had long since shifted to the East. With the former Warsaw Pact countries joining NATO, the alliance has a different mix today. Some people were sensitive about my comment because they thought it was a pejorative way of highlighting demographic realities. Apparently they felt it pointed a white light at a weakness in Europe - an aging population. Europe has come some distance since World War II in becoming Europe.
Donald Rumsfeld

46.
Remember where you came from.
Donald Rumsfeld

47.
If I look at the really important questions in [Middle East] region, I see Iran, where there is a strong desire for a freer society and where people are repressed by a small group of ayatollahs. I see Syria, where we can see a similar desire of the people to be free. These two countries fund Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations and are hurting our efforts in Afghanistan and have been extremely harmful in Iraq. Then I also see large, important countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Donald Rumsfeld

48.
Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.
Donald Rumsfeld

49.
Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as possible. As the degree of discretion increases, so too does bureaucracy, delay, and expense.
Donald Rumsfeld

50.
Move decisions out to the Cabinet and agencies. Strengthen them by moving responsibility, authority, and accountability their direction.
Donald Rumsfeld