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The Cold War was a war, and we won it.

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
Victory
Cold
War

More quotes by Donald Rumsfeld

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I didn't advocate invasion...I wasn't asked.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Listening to both sides does not necessarily bring about a correct judgment.
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Control your time. If you're working off your in-box, you're working off the priorities of others. Be sure the staff is working on what you move to them from the President, or the President will be reacting, not leading.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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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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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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
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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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With the press there is no off the record.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Success tends to go not to the person who is error-free, because he also tends to be risk-averse. Rather it goes to the person who recognizes that life is pretty much a percentage business. It isn't making mistakes that's critical it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Amidst all the clutter, beyond all the obstacles, aside from all the static, are the goals set. Put your head down, do the best job possible, let the flak pass, and work towards those goals.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are not there by accident. Each managed to get there for some reason. Learn what it was and you will know something important about them, about our country and about the American people.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Is it likely that an aircraft carrier or a cruise missile is going to find a person?
Donald Rumsfeld
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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
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Oh my goodness gracious, what you can buy off the Internet in terms of overhead photography. A trained ape can know an awful lot of what is going on in this world, just by punching on his mouse, for a relatively modest cost.
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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What is needed [to combat terrorism], in my view, is resolve, not retreat courage, not concession. Rather than thinking in terms of an exit strategy, focus on a strategy for success.
Donald Rumsfeld