Donald Rumsfeld Quotes
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Imagine, a September 11 with weapons of mass destruction. It's not 3,000. It's tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children.
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Extending on his earlier comments in a press conference at NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium (6 June 2002)
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Learn to say 'I don't know.' If used when appropriate, it will be often.
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In the execution of Presidential decisions work to be true to his views, in fact and tone.
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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.
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It's a difficult thing today to be informed about our government even without all the secrecy.
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Public servants are paid to serve the American people. Do it well.
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Simply because you do not have evidence that something exists does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn't exist.
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Let's hear it for the essential daily briefing, however hollow and empty it might be. We'll do it.
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I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.
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Visit with your predecessors from previous Administrations. They know the ropes and can help you see around some corners. Try to make original mistakes, rather than needlessly repeating theirs.
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The natural state of man is to want to be free. To have opportunities. To have choices.
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Well, so be it. Nothing's perfect in life, so you have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet.
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Think ahead. Don't let day-to-day operations drive out planning.
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Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
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Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
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If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
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Don't blame the boss. He has enough problems.
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Work continuously to trim the White House staff from your first day to your last. All the pressures are to the contrary.
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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.
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If a prospective Presidential approach can't be explained clearly enough to be understood well, it probably hasn't been thought through well enough. If not well understood by the American people, it probably won't 'sail' anyway. Send it back for further thought.
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With the press there is no 'off the record.'
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See that the President, the Cabinet and staff are informed. If cut out of the information flow, their decisions may be poor, not made, or not confidently or persuasively implemented.
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When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.