Donald Rumsfeld quotes:

The Secretary of Defense is not a super General or Admiral. His task is to exercise civilian control over the Department for the Commander-in-Chief and the country.

Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.

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

See that the President, the Cabinet and staff are informed. If cut out of the information flow, their decisions may be poor, not made, or not confidently or persuasively implemented.

Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers - they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.

I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that.

Don't say 'the White House wants.' Buildings can't want.

In our system leadership is by consent, not command. To lead a President must persuade. Personal contacts and experiences help shape his thinking. They can be critical to his persuasiveness and thus to his leadership.

Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.

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

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.

The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don't tell him the truth. Others won't do it.

Many people around the President have sizeable egos before entering government, some with good reason. Their new positions will do little to moderate their egos.

Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was - by a taxpayer.

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.

Make decisions about the President's personal security. He can overrule you, but don't ask him to be the one to counsel caution.

There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that's just a fact.

There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.

First rule of politics: you can't win unless you're on the ballot. Second rule: If you run, you may lose. And, if you tie, you do not win.

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.

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

In the execution of Presidential decisions work to be true to his views, in fact and tone.

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

Prune - prune businesses, products, activities, people. Do it annually.

Remember where you came from.

Leave the President's family business to him. You will have plenty to do without trying to manage the First Family. They are likely to do fine without your help.

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.

Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.

Think ahead. Don't let day-to-day operations drive out planning.

Don't blame the boss. He has enough problems.

Those who made the decisions with imperfect knowledge will be judged in hindsight by those with considerably more information at their disposal and time for reflection.

You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.

There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."

It is the photographs that gives one the vivid realization of what actually took place. (On photographs from Abu Ghraib prison.)

Let your family, staff, and friends know that you're still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.

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.

Is it likely that an aircraft carrier or a cruise missile is going to find a person?

They will do more whether we do what we're doing or whether we don't do what we're doing. And the idea that you could appease them [terrorists] by stopping doing what we're doing or some implication that by doing what we're doing we're inciting them to attack us is just utter nonsense. It's just--it's kind of like feeding an alligator, hoping it eats you last.

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.

When I served as US Ambassador to NATO in the 1970s, the center of gravity in Europe was France and Germany.

We do know of certain knowledge that he [Osama Bin Laden] is either in Afghanistan, or in some other country, or dead.

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.

Amidst all the clutter, beyond all the obstacles, aside from all the static, are the goals set. Put your head down, do the best job possible, let the flak pass, and work towards those goals.

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

Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.

Have a deputy and develop a successor. Don't be consumed by the job or you'll risk losing your balance. Keep your mooring lines to the outside world - family, friends, neighbors, people out of government, and people who may not agree with you.

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.

The dead-enders are still with us, those remnants of the defeated regimes who'll go on fighting long after their cause is lost.

After he saw what happened to Saddam Hussein, he ( Gaddafi ) did not want to be Saddam Hussein. He gave up his nuclear program.

Oh my goodness gracious, what you can buy off the Internet in terms of overhead photography. A trained ape can know an awful lot of what is going on in this world, just by punching on his mouse, for a relatively modest cost.

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.

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.

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

We know where they are [Iraq's weapons of mass destruction]. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.

Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.

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

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.

The most underestimated risk for a politician is overexposure.

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

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

I don't do quagmires.

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

There are known knowns, things we know that we know; and there are known unknowns, things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns, things we do not know we don't know.

One of your tasks is to separate the 'personal' from the 'substantive.' The two can become confused, especially if someone rubs the President wrong.

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.

Politics is human beings; it's addition rather than subtraction.

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

If a prospective Presidential approach can't be explained clearly enough to be understood well, it probably hasn't been thought through well enough. If not well understood by the American people, it probably won't 'sail' anyway. Send it back for further thought.

I suppose the implication of that is the president and the vice president and myself and Colin Powell just fell off a turnip truck to take these jobs.

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.

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

We never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country.

Keep your sense of humor. As General Joe Stillwell said, 'The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind'.

When starting at the bottom, be willing to learn from those at the top.

We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad.

Within a week, or a month, Saddam could give his WMD to al-Qaeda.

When someone with a rural accent says, "I don't know much about politics," zip up your pockets.

Your performance depends on your people. Select the best, train them and back them. When errors occur, give sharper guidance. If errors persist or if the fit feels wrong, help them move on. The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House.

You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be responsible. Give them authority and hold them accountable. Trying to do too much yourself creates a bottleneck.

Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.

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.

Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.

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.

It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task.

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.

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

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.

Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.

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

You're thinking of Eurpoe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe.

The way to do well is to do well.

It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.

In politics, every day is filled with numerous opportunities for serious error. Enjoy it.

If I look at the really important questions in [Middle East] region, I see Iran, where there is a strong desire for a freer society and where people are repressed by a small group of ayatollahs. I see Syria, where we can see a similar desire of the people to be free. These two countries fund Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations and are hurting our efforts in Afghanistan and have been extremely harmful in Iraq. Then I also see large, important countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize. It's to change the behavior of the people that are being terrorized.

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

The reality is that terrorists can attack any time at any minute, 24 hours a day, using a variety of techniques, in any place at all. And it's not possible to defend in every place, against every technique, against every conceivable approach. It means that you can't stop every terrorist attack. Innocent men, women and children are going to be killed if terrorists are determined to do it.

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.

Listening to both sides does not necessarily bring about a correct judgment.

To gain support in U.S. Congress and from other nations requires clarity, an acceptable mission and an explicit outcome.

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

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

You can have a broad popular democracy movement and have it end being taken over by the most vicious people and the result is you don't end up with free political systems or free economic systems, you end up with a handful of radicals controlling the country.

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.

We [the USA] do have a big nation's problem. We have the problem of a nation that's got two oceans, oceans on either side. People come from all across the globe and want to live here and they want to work here and they want to invest here. And that's a good thing. And they make up this country. But as a people, we [americans] are not highly skilled in languages. We're not highly skilled in knowledge of other cultures. And that's a problem.

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.

If you try to please everybody, somebody's not going to like it.

The problem is the people who tend to be the best organized are the most radical and the most vicious.

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.

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

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.

You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe.

There are a lot of things that are said by people in the military, or civilian life, or in the Congress, or in the Executive Branch, that are their views. And that's the way we live. We're a free people. And that's the wonderful thing about our country.

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.

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.

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

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

I would not say that the future is necessarily less predictable than the past. I think the past was not predictable when it started.

I am going to leave the future of Europe to the Europeans.

We're not running out of [fixed] targets. Afghanistan is.