Quote

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

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
Doubt
Days
Unknowable
Lasts
Weeks
Last
Six
War
Iraq
Long
Conflict
Months
Week

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Don't divide the world into them and us.
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There's another way to phrase that and that is that the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. It is basically saying the same thing in a different way. Simply because you do not have evidence that something does exist does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn't exist.
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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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I tend over the years to have developed a certain hesitancy about believing that headlines tell the whole story.
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Then there are three or four countries that have said they won't do anything. I believe Libya, Cuba and Germany are ones that have indicated they won't help in any respect.
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If you look ahead 10 years, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the people of Russia had become fans of missile defence.
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In unanimity there may well be either cowardice or uncritical thinking.
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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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No. That's someone else's business. Quagmire is - I don't do quagmires.
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Do you have any regrets? Of course I do.
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A large number of people to begin crawling through those tunnels and caves looking for the bad folks.
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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.
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When business accepts help from the government, it can be like going to bed with a hippopotamus. It's nice and warm for the moment, but then your bedmate rolls over and crushes you.
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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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You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.
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I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.
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When starting at the bottom, be willing to learn from those at the top.
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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.
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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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Keep your sense of humor. As General Joe Stillwell said, 'The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind'.
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