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Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.
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
People
Iraq
Crime
Stupid
Mistake
Freedom
Untidy
Free
Crimes
Make
Commit
Things
Mistakes
More quotes by Donald Rumsfeld
We don't seek empires.We're not imperialistic.
Donald Rumsfeld
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
If I know the answer I'll tell you the answer, and if I don't I'll just respond cleverly.
Donald Rumsfeld
Well, so be it. Nothing's perfect in life, so you have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet.
Donald Rumsfeld
Preserve the President's options. He may need them.
Donald Rumsfeld
[on Osama bin Laden] He is either alive and well or alive and not too well or not alive.
Donald Rumsfeld
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
When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.
Donald Rumsfeld
No terror state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Donald Rumsfeld
Don't be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find problem areas, add structure and delegate. The pressure is to do the reverse. Resist it.
Donald Rumsfeld
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
Donald Rumsfeld
If there are people who yearn for the days when Saddam Hussein was in power, then I am not among them.
Donald Rumsfeld
Pieces of intelligence, scraps of intelligence...you run down leads and you run down leads, and you hope that sometimes it works.
Donald Rumsfeld
Make decisions about the President's personal security. He can overrule you, but don't ask him to be the one to counsel caution.
Donald Rumsfeld
Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
Donald Rumsfeld
A large number of people to begin crawling through those tunnels and caves looking for the bad folks.
Donald Rumsfeld
You can have a broad popular democracy movement and have it end being taken over by the most vicious people and the result is you don't end up with free political systems or free economic systems, you end up with a handful of radicals controlling the country.
Donald Rumsfeld
I don't know anybody that I can think of who has contended that the Iraqis had nuclear weapons.
Donald Rumsfeld
Don't divide the world into them and us.
Donald Rumsfeld
Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
Donald Rumsfeld
