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Certainty without power can be interesting, even amusing. Certainty with power can be dangerous.

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
Power
Without
Even
Amusing
Certainty
Dangerous
Interesting

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The worst mistake is to have the best ladder and the wrong wall.
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There will be good moments, and there will be less good moments.
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There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that's just a fact.
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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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I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to four hours?
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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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Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
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Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned it was - by a taxpayer.
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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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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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It is very difficult to spend federal (the taxpayers') dollars so that the intended result is achieved.
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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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I think we ought to have a new rule: You can ask two questions, and then we can pick the one we want to answer.
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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.
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It is unknowable how long that conflict [the war in Iraq] will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.
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Pieces of intelligence, scraps of intelligence...you run down leads and you run down leads, and you hope that sometimes it works.
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Listening to both sides does not necessarily bring about a correct judgment.
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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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I believe what I said yesterday. I don't know what I said, but I know what I think and I assume it's what I said.
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Don't divide the world into them and us.
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