Donald Rumsfeld Quotes on Government (22 Quotes)

But I certainly never gave the president a briefing with the impact that one would have had you seen the photographs or the video. I mean, let there be no doubt about that. He was just as blindsided as the Congress and me and everyone else.

The area of the country he is operating in and the tribes he is in contact with are obviously the dominant population in the country so that whole element has a big role to play in both the operations and the post-Taliban government,

We're not going to making requests of the Saudi Arabian government. We are respectful of the circumstance of the countries of the region. We understand that, ... Our interest is to create a set of conditions, a sustained effort against terrorist networks in the region.

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.

And the only thing that will have changed is that you've now got the interim government and the coalition forces with the same goal, ... but it will require interaction between the two of them because there will be a government for the first time in place of the Taliban.

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.

Our goal is to get the tribes in the south to oppose the Taliban, ... They have been relatively quiet thus far. We need them to oppose the Taliban. Therefore, we need them to recognize that they're going to have a voice in the post-Taliban government.

people all across the spectrum, insurgents and opponents, people kind of leaning that way, people in the middle, people leaning toward the government and then the government.

The new government would be an Iraq that would be for the Iraqi people. It wouldn't be a regime determined from the outside of Iraq, ... nonsense.

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.

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.

The United States government is not going to make any arrangement with any other country that would in any way undermine our security agreement with Japan,

People have been moving together, talking, discussing things, ... You can always find someone who's going to try to be a dead-ender and say, 'If you don't do this, I won't do that.' But that's part of negotiation. We see that in the Congress and we see it in democratic systems all over the world.

As a result, we have some folks in that country that have been working with the government and helping them think through ways of doing things,

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.

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.

Members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are not there by accident. Each managed to get there for some reason. Learn what it was and you will know something important about them, about our country and about the American people.

Our government has made a considered judgment that it was appropriate to transfer these individuals to the government of the United Kingdom,

Congress has overnight responsibilities and certainly that's perfectly appropriate,

I failed to recognize how important it was to elevate a matter of such gravity to the highest levels, including the president and the members of Congress,

I congratulate the people of Mongolia, the government and the armed forces of Mongolia for selecting that (peacekeeping) as a principle aspect of their military focus, and certainly the United States is anxious and willing and ready to be of assistance,

It's not clear to me that that will even be decided until after the government that follows the interim government is in place.