Donald Rumsfeld Quotes

The success of an organization will depend on the people you surround yourself with.

Never assume the other fellow will not do something you wouldn't do.

When asked for your views, by the press or others, remember that what they really want to know is the President's views.

The worst thing you can do is allow a coalition to determine what your mission is.

Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.

Our task, your task... is to try to connect the dots before something happens. People say, 'Well, where's the smoking gun?' Well, we don't want to see a smoking gun from a weapon of mass destruction.

There are things that we know, and there are things that we don't know. Then there are the things that we don't even know that we don't know. Those are the things that are the hardest.

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.

When there happens to be a weapon of mass destruction suspect site in an area that we occupy and if people have time, they'll look at it.

Any country on the face of the Earth with an active intelligence program knows that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.

Visit with your predecessors from previous Administrations. They know the ropes and can help you see around some corners. Try to make original mistakes, rather than needlessly repeating theirs.

It is worth reminding that being president is a tough job for anybody, and particularly so in the information age. There's such a glut of information. Anything a president says or does is picked up on the Internet or the 24/7 news media and criticized almost instantly. Leaders persuade through their words and as such their words need to be measured and well chosen. It is a tough job.

If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.

Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps engender the support decisions need to be successfully implemented.

I recognize the need to provide the press - and, through you, the American people - with information to the fullest extent possible. In our democracy, the work of the Pentagon press corps is important, defending our freedom and way of life is what this conflict is about, and that certainly includes freedom of the press.

"Do you have any regrets?" Of course I do.

If you look ahead 10 years, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the people of Russia had become fans of missile defence.

NATO member states vary dramatically in their capability and in their political steadfastness.

It is very difficult to spend "federal (the taxpayers') dollars" so that the intended result is achieved.

Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.

Public servants are paid to serve the American people. Do it well.

It is hard to put a price on some things. What is the value of having prevented nuclear weapons from getting into the hands of a dictator like Saddam Hussein - or of Gadhafi?

We are in the process of trying to liberate that country. And at the moment where the war ends and the coalition forces occupy the areas where those capabilities - chemical and biological weapons - are likely to be, to the extent they haven't been moved out of the country, it obviously is important to find them.

Napoleon was asked, "Who do you consider to be the greatest generals?" He responded saying, "The victors.

Move decisions out to the Cabinet and agencies. Strengthen them by moving responsibility, authority, and accountability their direction.

Success tends to go not to the person who is error-free, because he also tends to be risk-averse. Rather it goes to the person who recognizes that life is pretty much a percentage business. It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task.

Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal.

Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.

Every president when he is elected has to live with the pluses and minuses his predecessor leaves, which includes benefits as well as burdens.

If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.

The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it can better be handled privately, by voluntary organizations, or by local or state governments.

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.

No. That's someone else's business. Quagmire is - I don't do quagmires.

A president has to provide leadership to gain support.

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

When it comes to reconstruction, before we turn to the American taxpayer, we will turn first to the resources of the Iraqi government and the international community.

I'm glad you asked. It has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil.

Whatever new threats and challenges may emerge, our nation will be able to face them squarely, deal with them, and yet allow our people to continue to live free and unafraid. The decisions you make, the courage and creativity you bring to your responsibilities, will determine America's future. Liberty and our way of life are fragile gifts - their care is in your hands. We thank you for stepping forward to shoulder that immense responsibility. Your country is grateful, and proud of each of you.

A terrorist can attack any time, any place using any technique and you can't defend everywhere against every technique at every moment.

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.

When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.

Imagine, a September 11 with weapons of mass destruction. It's not 3,000. It's tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children.

In 2003, at the time I made my "Old Europe" comment, the center of gravity in NATO and Europe had long since shifted to the East. With the former Warsaw Pact countries joining NATO, the alliance has a different mix today. Some people were sensitive about my comment because they thought it was a pejorative way of highlighting demographic realities. Apparently they felt it pointed a white light at a weakness in Europe - an aging population. Europe has come some distance since World War II in becoming Europe.

They may have had time to destroy them, and I don't know the answer.

Don't divide the world into 'them' and 'us.' Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the press, the Congress, rivals, or opponents. Accept them as facts. They have their jobs and you have yours.

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.

I am not going to give you a number for it because it's not my business to do intelligent work.

When you're skiing, if you're not falling you're not trying.