Donald Rumsfeld Quotes

After the German abstention at the UN, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle commented that Germany doesn't always have to stand on the side of its traditional allies. Berlin can look for new partners all over the world.

Walk around. If you are invisible, the mystique of the President's office may perpetuate inaccurate impressions about you or the President, to his detriment. After all, you may not be as bad as they're saying.

Every country should be tired of going to war. War is a terrible thing. If I had been in Congress, as much as I would be inclined naturally to be supportive of a president, any president, I would have voted no, had the issue come to a vote.

I would not say that the future is necessarily less predictable than the past. I think the past was not predictable when it started.

It is the photographs that gives one the vivid realization of what actually took place. (On photographs from Abu Ghraib prison.)

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

Our task, your task ... is to try to connect the dots before something happens. People say, 'Well, where's the smoking gun?' Well, we don't want to see a smoking gun from a weapon of mass destruction.

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.

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

The dead-enders are still with us, those remnants of the defeated regimes who'll go on fighting long after their cause is lost.

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

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

In unanimity there may well be either cowardice or uncritical thinking.

It is unknowable how long that conflict [the war in Iraq] will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.

Any country on the face of the Earth with an active intelligence program knows that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.

Plan backwards as well as forward. Set objectives and trace back to see how to achieve them. You may find that no path can get you there. Plan forward to see where your steps will take you, which may not be clear or intuitive.

Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers - they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.

I don't do quagmires.

There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.

A large number of people to begin crawling through those tunnels and caves looking for the bad folks.

We are in the process of trying to liberate that country. And at the moment where the war ends and the coalition forces occupy the areas where those capabilities - chemical and biological weapons - are likely to be, to the extent they haven't been moved out of the country, it obviously is important to find them.

It is very difficult to spend "federal (the taxpayers') dollars" so that the intended result is achieved.

I cannot give any assurances. I'm not in that business. I haven't been, and I don't intend to get into it. People who try to make predictions about things or assurances often find they're wrong.

In the execution of Presidential decisions work to be true to his views, in fact and tone.

I'm glad you asked. It has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil.

You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today, the center of gravity is shifting to the east. And there are a lot of new members. And if you just take the list of all the members of NATO and all of those who have been invited in recently
what is it? Twenty-six, something like that?
you're right. Germany has been a problem, and France has been a problem.

Let your family, staff, and friends know that you're still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.

I am not going to give you a number for it because it's not my business to do intelligent work.

We're not running out of [fixed] targets. Afghanistan is.

Those who made the decisions with imperfect knowledge will be judged in hindsight by those with considerably more information at their disposal and time for reflection.

I think it's very useful for you folks (reporters) to try your damndest to be precise. And don't repeat things that are inaccurate if you can possibly avoid it. And when you see things that are inaccurate, knock them down
because there's a bucket of it floating around.

Don't be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find problem areas, add structure and delegate. The pressure is to do the reverse. Resist it.

Simply because you do not have evidence that something exists does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn't exist.

A few ... critics are the only people I ever heard use the phrase 'imminent threat.' I didn't, the president didn't.

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.

When starting at the bottom, be willing to learn from those at the top.

The most underestimated risk for a politician is overexposure.

The Cold War was a war, and we won it.

I don't know anybody that I can think of who has contended that the Iraqis had nuclear weapons.

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.

There are known knowns, things we know that we know; and there are known unknowns, things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns, things we do not know we don't know.

The worst mistake is to have the best ladder and the wrong wall.

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

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.

You're thinking of Eurpoe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe.

I recognize the need to provide the press - and, through you, the American people - with information to the fullest extent possible. In our democracy, the work of the Pentagon press corps is important, defending our freedom and way of life is what this conflict is about, and that certainly includes freedom of the press.

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

Certainty without power can be interesting, even amusing. Certainty with power can be dangerous.

I am going to leave the future of Europe to the Europeans.

I think all of us have a sense if we imagine the kind of world we would face if the people who bombed the mess hall in Mosul, or the people who did the bombing in Spain, or the people who attacked the United States in New York, shot down the plane over Pennsylvania and attacked the Pentagon, the people who cut off peoples' heads on television to intimidate, to frighten indeed the word 'terrorized' is just that. Its purpose is to terrorize, to alter behavior, to make people be something other than that which they want to be.

We have an orientation that tends to make us think that everything is our responsibility and that we should be doing this. It is the Iraqis' country, 28 million of them. They are perfectly capable of running that country.

General Boykin has requested that an inspector general review this matter. And I have indicated that if that's his request, I think it's appropriate.

Control your own time. Don't let it be done for you. If you are working off the in-box that is fed you, you are probably working on the priority of others.

Presidential leadership needn't always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.

The United States, as all you know, did not come to Iraq for oil, not to occupy. We came here only to help.

Most US presidents since World War II have led military actions without a declaration of war by Congress, though most, if not all, have properly consulted and sought support from Congress. That is the wise thing to do.

It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.

Politics is human beings; it's addition rather than subtraction.

A president has to provide leadership to gain support.

The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don't tell him the truth. Others won't do it.

Amidst all the clutter, beyond all the obstacles, aside from all the static, are the goals set. Put your head down, do the best job possible, let the flak pass, and work towards those goals.

When someone with a rural accent says, "I don't know much about politics," zip up your pockets.

From where you sit, the White House may look as untidy as the inside of a stomach. As is said of the legislative process, sausage-making and policy-making shouldn't be seen close-up. Don't let that panic you. Things may be going better than they look from the inside.

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.

What is the value of having millions of people in Iraq not having a repressive regime? What is the value of having the Iraqi regime not shooting at UK and US aircraft almost every day? What is the value of the Iraqis having a free press? What is the value of the foreign minister of Iraq going to Paris, calling for an end of the Gadhafi regime and citing Iraq as a model, as an example, that in fact a freer political system can exist in that part of the world?

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.

If you look ahead 10 years, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the people of Russia had become fans of missile defence.

The reality is that [Barack] Obama has some 15 countries in the current Libya coalition. President Bush put together close to 50 countries for the Afghan coalition, some 40 countries for the Iraqi coalition, more than 90 countries for the Proliferation Security Initiative and over 90 countries in the Global War on Terror.

America is not what's wrong with the world

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

If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.

One thing appears reasonably certain, and that's that those who make allegations of a culture of deception, of intimidation or cover-up need to be extremely careful about such accusations.

It is worth reminding that being president is a tough job for anybody, and particularly so in the information age. There's such a glut of information. Anything a president says or does is picked up on the Internet or the 24/7 news media and criticized almost instantly. Leaders persuade through their words and as such their words need to be measured and well chosen. It is a tough job.

Something under $50 billion for the cost. How much of that would be the U.S. burden, and how much would be other countries, is an open question.

Is it likely that an aircraft carrier or a cruise missile is going to find a person?

Know that the immediate staff and others in the Administration will assume that your manner, tone and tempo reflect the President's.

Sausage making and policy-making shouldn't be seen close-up.

I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that.

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

Everyone's saying you can't do anything until you can do everything, and in life I've never found that to be the case. To me, first you crawl, then you walk, then you run. And so let's get on with it. Let's stick something in the ground and not pretend that it's perfect.

If we know anything, it is that weakness is provocative.

The press always wants to know how many people will be killed or how much it will cost, but the answers to those questions are not knowable.

Find ways to decentralize. Move decision making authority down and out. Encourage a more entrepreneurial approach.

Never hire anyone
you can't fire.

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.

Don't divide the world into 'them' and 'us.' Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the press, the Congress, rivals, or opponents. Accept them as facts. They have their jobs and you have yours.

Most of the 50 or so invitations you receive each week come from people inviting the President's Chief of Staff, not you. If you doubt that, ask your predecessor how many he received last week.

The way to do well is to do well.

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.

There will be good moments, and there will be less good moments.

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.

Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, 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.

Don't accept the post or stay unless you have an understanding with the President that you're free to tell him what you think "with the bark off" and you have the courage to do it.

You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.

If you develop rules, never have more than ten.

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.

There are a lot of things that are said by people in the military, or civilian life, or in the Congress, or in the Executive Branch, that are their views. And that's the way we live. We're a free people. And that's the wonderful thing about our country.

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

It's a difficult thing today to be informed about our government even without all the secrecy.

Preserve the President's options. He may need them.