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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
Mistake
Worst
Wrong
Best
Ladder
Ladders
Wall

More quotes by 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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I am not going to give you a number for it because it's not my business to do intelligent work.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Oh, Lord. I didn't mean to say anything quotable.
Donald Rumsfeld
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It is very difficult to spend federal (the taxpayers') dollars so that the intended result is achieved.
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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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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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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One of your tasks is to separate the 'personal' from the 'substantive.' The two can become confused, especially if someone rubs the President wrong.
Donald Rumsfeld
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It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
Donald Rumsfeld
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I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to four hours?
Donald Rumsfeld
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We do have a saying in America: if you're in a hole, stop digging ..... erm, I'm not sure I should have said that.
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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Look for what's missing. Many advisors can tell a President how to improve what's proposed or what's gone amiss. Few are able to see what isn't there.
Donald Rumsfeld
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They may have had time to destroy them, and I don't know the answer.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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.
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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There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that's just a fact.
Donald Rumsfeld
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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.
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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Most of the 50 or so invitations you receive each week come from people inviting the President's Chief of Staff, not you. If you doubt that, ask your predecessor how many he received last week.
Donald Rumsfeld