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The worst mistake is to have the best ladder and the wrong wall.

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
Ladder
Ladders
Wall
Mistake
Worst
Wrong
Best

More quotes by Donald Rumsfeld

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A few. . . critics are the only people I ever heard use the phrase 'imminent threat.' I didn't, the president didn't.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Don't do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post.
Donald Rumsfeld
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There will be good moments, and there will be less good moments.
Donald Rumsfeld
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We'll have to deal with the networks. One of the ways to do that is to drain the swamp they live in. And that means dealing not only with the terrorists, but those who harbor terrorists. This will take a long, sustained effort. It will require the support of the American people as well as our friends and allies around the world.
Donald Rumsfeld
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You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
Donald Rumsfeld
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I tend over the years to have developed a certain hesitancy about believing that headlines tell the whole story.
Donald Rumsfeld
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After the German abstention at the UN, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle commented that Germany doesn't always have to stand on the side of its traditional allies. Berlin can look for new partners all over the world.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Oh, Lord. I didn't mean to say anything quotable.
Donald Rumsfeld
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There are known knowns there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know.
Donald Rumsfeld
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If there are people who yearn for the days when Saddam Hussein was in power, then I am not among them.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Plan backwards as well as forward. Set objectives and trace back to see how to achieve them. You may find that no path can get you there. Plan forward to see where your steps will take you, which may not be clear or intuitive.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize. It's to change the behavior of the people that are being terrorized.
Donald Rumsfeld
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We have an orientation that tends to make us think that everything is our responsibility and that we should be doing this. It is the Iraqis' country, 28 million of them. They are perfectly capable of running that country.
Donald Rumsfeld
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When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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.
Donald Rumsfeld
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General Boykin has requested that an inspector general review this matter. And I have indicated that if that's his request, I think it's appropriate.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.
Donald Rumsfeld