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If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.

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
Right
Doubt
Stills
Still

More quotes by Donald Rumsfeld

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I tend over the years to have developed a certain hesitancy about believing that headlines tell the whole story.
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If you try to please everybody, somebody's not going to like it.
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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.
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Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
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Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
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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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Remember where you came from.
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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.
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Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.
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When starting at the bottom, be willing to learn from those at the top.
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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.
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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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The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize. It's to change the behavior of the people that are being terrorized.
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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.
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Listening to both sides does not necessarily bring about a correct judgment.
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At 78 years old, I am not surprised at much anymore. Germany has taken divergent positions before, so has France, so has England, so has the US.
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When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.
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Preserve the President's options. He may need them.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.
Donald Rumsfeld
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I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to four hours?
Donald Rumsfeld