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If you develop rules, never have more than ten.

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
Rules
Never
Develop
Ten

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We don't seek empires.We're not imperialistic.
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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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I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to four hours?
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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.
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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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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.
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Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.
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You might be a cunning linguist, but I am a master debater.
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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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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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Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.
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If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.
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I'm glad you asked. It has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil.
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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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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.
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Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
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When you raise issues with the President, try to come away with both that decision and also a precedent. Pose issues so as to evoke broader policy guidance. This can help to answer a range of similar issues likely to arise later.
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The natural state of man is to want to be free. To have opportunities. To have choices.
Donald Rumsfeld
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The worst mistake is to have the best ladder and the wrong wall.
Donald Rumsfeld