Donald Rumsfeld Quotes - Page 5

The coalition did not act in Iraq because we had discovered dramatic new evidence of Iraq's pursuit. We acted because we saw the evidence in a dramatic new light - through the prism of our experience on 9/11.

Be yourself. Follow your instincts. Success depends, at least in part, on the ability to 'carry it off.'

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.

If a person is determined to fight to the death, then they may very well have that opportunity.

Find ways to decentralize. Move decision making authority down and out. Encourage a more entrepreneurial approach.

From where you sit, the White House may look as untidy as the inside of a stomach. As is said of the legislative process, sausage-making and policy-making shouldn't be seen close-up. Don't let that panic you. Things may be going better than they look from the inside.

If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes.

Presidential leadership needn't always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.

If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.

Work continuously to trim the White House staff from your first day to your last. All the pressures are to the contrary.

Watch the growth of middle level management. Don't automatically fill vacant jobs. Leave some positions unfilled for 6-8 months to see what happens. You will find you won't need to fill some of them.

If you develop rules, never have more than ten.

I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.

Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.

Preserve the President's options. He may need them.

The most underestimated risk for a politician is overexposure.

Don't divide the world into "them" and "us."

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.

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.

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

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.

What is the value of having millions of people in Iraq not having a repressive regime? What is the value of having the Iraqi regime not shooting at UK and US aircraft almost every day? What is the value of the Iraqis having a free press? What is the value of the foreign minister of Iraq going to Paris, calling for an end of the Gadhafi regime and citing Iraq as a model, as an example, that in fact a freer political system can exist in that part of the world?

I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to four hours?

You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today, the center of gravity is shifting to the east. And there are a lot of new members. And if you just take the list of all the members of NATO and all of those who have been invited in recently -- what is it? Twenty-six, something like that? -- you're right. Germany has been a problem, and France has been a problem.

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