Quote

In unanimity there may well be either cowardice or uncritical thinking.

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
Wells
Well
Thinking
Uncritical
Unanimity
Cowardice
Either
May

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Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned it was - by a taxpayer.
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The worst mistake is to have the best ladder and the wrong wall.
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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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We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad.
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Control your own time. Don't let it be done for you. If you are working off the in-box that is fed you, you are probably working on the priority of others.
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Don't divide the world into them and us.
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Work continuously to trim the White House staff from your first day to your last. All the pressures are to the contrary.
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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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Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.
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I don't know anybody that I can think of who has contended that the Iraqis had nuclear weapons.
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Don't divide the world into 'them' and 'us.' Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the press, the Congress, rivals, or opponents. Accept them as facts. They have their jobs and you have yours.
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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.
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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.
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Make decisions about the President's personal security. He can overrule you, but don't ask him to be the one to counsel caution.
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Napoleon was asked, Who do you consider to be the greatest generals? He responded saying, The victors.
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Any country on the face of the Earth with an active intelligence program knows that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.
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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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At 78 years old, I am not surprised at much anymore. Germany has taken divergent positions before, so has France, so has England, so has the US.
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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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Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.
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