Donald Rumsfeld Quotes
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If you develop rules, never have more than ten.
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If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes.
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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.
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Don't do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post.
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And it is not knowable if force will be used, but if it is to be used, it is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last, you know, six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.
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It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
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I'm not into this detail stuff. I'm more concepty.
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Remember where you came from.
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Leave the President's family business to him. You will have plenty to do without trying to manage the First Family. They are likely to do fine without your help.
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Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.
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Those who follow orders to commit such crimes will be found and they will be punished. War crimes will be prosecuted. And it will be no excuse to say, 'I was just following orders.' Any official involved in such crimes will forfeit hope of amnesty or leniency with respect to past action.
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I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to four hours?
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It is pretty clear that the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq in one way or another, but it will be a long, hard slog. 16
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If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.
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It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task.
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Osama bin Laden is either alive and well or alive and not too well or not alive.
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We're so conditioned as a people to think that a military campaign has to be cruise missiles and television images of airplanes dropping bombs, and that's just false. This is a totally different war. We need a new vocabulary. We need to get rid of old think and start thinking about this thing the way it really is.
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Oh my goodness gracious, what you can buy off the Internet in terms of overhead photography. A trained ape can know an awful lot of what is going on in this world, just by punching on his mouse, for a relatively modest cost.
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Don't say 'the White House wants.' Buildings can't want.
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One of your tasks is to separate the 'personal' from the 'substantive.' The two can become confused, especially if someone rubs the President wrong.
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I didn't advocate invasion…I wasn't asked.
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If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.
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Secretary Powell and I agree on every single issue that has ever been before this administration except for those instances where Colin's still learning.
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Then there are three or four countries that have said they won't do anything. I believe Libya, Cuba and Germany are ones that have indicated they won't help in any respect.