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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.

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
England
Position
Divergent
Taken
Positions
Much
Surprised
Years
Germany
France
Anymore

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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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Every country should be tired of going to war. War is a terrible thing. If I had been in Congress, as much as I would be inclined naturally to be supportive of a president, any president, I would have voted no, had the issue come to a vote.
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Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
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I am not going to give you a number for it because it's not my business to do intelligent work.
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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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If you can't solve a problem, make it bigger.
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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
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When starting at the bottom, be willing to learn from those at the top.
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One of your tasks is to separate the 'personal' from the 'substantive.' The two can become confused, especially if someone rubs the President wrong.
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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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