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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
Years
Surprised
Germany
France
Anymore
England
Position
Taken
Divergent
Much
Positions
More quotes by 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.
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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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Let your family, staff, and friends know that you're still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.
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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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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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Preserve the President's options. He may need them.
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The reality is that [Barack] Obama has some 15 countries in the current Libya coalition. President Bush put together close to 50 countries for the Afghan coalition, some 40 countries for the Iraqi coalition, more than 90 countries for the Proliferation Security Initiative and over 90 countries in the Global War on Terror.
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Secretary Powell and I agree on every single issue that has ever been before this administration except for those instances where Colin's still learning.
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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.
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There's another way to phrase that and that is that the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. It is basically saying the same thing in a different way. Simply because you do not have evidence that something does exist does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn't exist.
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Is it likely that an aircraft carrier or a cruise missile is going to find a person?
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If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.
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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.
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With the press there is no off the record.
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[on Osama bin Laden] He is either alive and well or alive and not too well or not alive.
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No. That's someone else's business. Quagmire is - I don't do quagmires.
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It is very difficult to spend federal (the taxpayers') dollars so that the intended result is achieved.
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Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
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When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.
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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
