Donald Rumsfeld Quotes
-
Remember where you came from.
-
Prune - prune businesses, products, activities, people. Do it annually.
-
Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.
-
It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
-
Osama bin Laden is either alive and well or alive and not too well or not alive.
-
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.
-
And there is, I am certain, among the Iraqi people a respect for the care and the precision that went into the bombing campaign.
-
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.
-
Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
-
Don't do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post.
-
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.
-
It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task.
-
Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.
-
If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes.
-
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.
-
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.
-
If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.
-
Don't say 'the White House wants.' Buildings can't want.
-
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
-
If you try to please everybody, somebody's not going to like it.
-
First rule of politics: you can't win unless you're on the ballot. Second rule: If you run, you may lose. And, if you tie, you do not win.
-
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.
-
If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.
-
I didn't advocate invasion…I wasn't asked.