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

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
Need
Needs
Hype
Options
Preserve
Preserves
President
May

More quotes by Donald Rumsfeld

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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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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The worst mistake is to have the best ladder and the wrong wall.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Being Vice President is difficult. Don't make it tougher.
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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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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Napoleon was asked, Who do you consider to be the greatest generals? He responded saying, The victors.
Donald Rumsfeld
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If you develop rules, never have more than ten.
Donald Rumsfeld
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A few. . . critics are the only people I ever heard use the phrase 'imminent threat.' I didn't, the president didn't.
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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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It is very difficult to spend federal (the taxpayers') dollars so that the intended result is achieved.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.
Donald Rumsfeld
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I don't know anybody that I can think of who has contended that the Iraqis had nuclear weapons.
Donald Rumsfeld
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When I served as US Ambassador to NATO in the 1970s, the center of gravity in Europe was France and Germany.
Donald Rumsfeld
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I think we ought to have a new rule: You can ask two questions, and then we can pick the one we want to answer.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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I believe what I said yesterday. I don't know what I said, but I know what I think and I assume it's what I said.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
Donald Rumsfeld