Quote

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

Donald Rumsfeld

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Donald Rumsfeld
Age: 88 †
Born: 1932
Born: July 9
Died: 2021
Died: June 29
Author
Businessperson
Diplomat
Former U.S. Secretary Of Defense
Military Officer
Politician
Chicago
Illinois
Donald Henry Rumsfeld
Small
Margin
Funny
Margins
Precision
Precise
Error
Errors
Lack
Dangerous

More quotes by Donald Rumsfeld

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Inspectors do not have the duty or the ability to uncover terrible weapons hidden in a vast country. The responsibility of inspectors is simply to confirm evidence of voluntary and total disarmament. Saddam Hussein has the responsibility to provide that evidence, as directed, and in full
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Make decisions about the President's personal security. He can overrule you, but don't ask him to be the one to counsel caution.
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The Cold War was a war, and we won it.
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Pieces of intelligence, scraps of intelligence...you run down leads and you run down leads, and you hope that sometimes it works.
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Certainty without power can be interesting, even amusing. Certainty with power can be dangerous.
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If I know the answer I'll tell you the answer, and if I don't I'll just respond cleverly.
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Do you have any regrets? Of course I do.
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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.
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When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.
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If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.
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Oh, Lord. I didn't mean to say anything quotable.
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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.
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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.
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We don't seek empires.We're not imperialistic.
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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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The United States isn't going to do anything that it's not capable of doing. And if we do something, we'll be capable of doing it.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Let your family, staff, and friends know that you're still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.
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Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
Donald Rumsfeld
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The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize. It's to change the behavior of the people that are being terrorized.
Donald Rumsfeld
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In our system leadership is by consent, not command. To lead a President must persuade. Personal contacts and experiences help shape his thinking. They can be critical to his persuasiveness and thus to his leadership.
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