Donald Rumsfeld Quotes on Time (40 Quotes)

I don't know that he necessarily reflects the U.N., the center of gravity of the Security Council on any particular issue at any particular time,

I can't speak to how valid it might have been at that time. But it seems to me the information is collected, is collated, and judgments are made and warnings are issued

As enemy leaders become fewer and fewer that does not necessarily mean that the task will become easier, ... People can hide in caves for long periods, and this will take time.

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.

It could have important implications for the world, ... The only fair thing to do is to allow the experts that are currently reviewing it the time that's necessary.

Now is the time for resolve, not retreat. Turning our backs on post-war Iraq today would be the modern equivalent of handing post-war Germany back to the Nazis.

are widely available and do have the ability to shoot down a helicopter, and from time to time, this happens.

They can't win a war out in the field. The only place they can win is in a test of wills, if people say, 'The cost is too high and the time is too long.'

not inevitable, although as the president has said, 'Time is running out.'

We have to expect that global terrorist networks that we know are trying to get these weapons will in fact be successful at some time in the future,

I think it's reasonable to expect that violence could, again, increase for a time, as it did during the last elections,

It will take a broad, sustained effort that will have to use our diplomatic, our political, our economic, our financial strength, as well as our military strength, ... It will take time. It's not a matter of days or weeks. It's years. It's going to take the support of the American people and I have every confidence it'll be there.

We don't have any proposals to alter that at the present time, ... That is a piece of the total picture and it will be addressed in its totality, as it is being done through the National Security Council process.

The Coalition of Iraqi forces have completed the move for all practical purposes from the north to the south. They are operating in one way or another in much, if not all, parts of the city at the present time.

The Iraqi people who are involved in this process are relatively new to the political process. It will take them some time I suspect.

It's based on unit cohesion, ... The principle is that -- in the event there is something that requires a unit to be involved in, and people are in a personal situation where their time was ending -- they put a stop-loss on it so cohesion is maintained.

When the history of this time is written, an era of tragedy and turmoil and triumph, I believe it will be said of Dick Myers that he was one of the most consequential chairman of the joint chiefs in our history,

I have not seen the tape. I do not know if that is on the tape.. whether or not he was dead or alive when whatever took place did take place, ... It seems to me that one ought to be willing to allow some time to pass over something like this so that the people who are looking at these things can come to some conclusions.

It's only a matter of time before the rest are dealt with,

Control your time. If you're working off your in-box, you're working off the priorities of others. Be sure the staff is working on what you move to them from the President, or the President will be reacting, not leading.

Our objective is not to create dependency but to encourage Iraqi independence, by giving Iraqis increasing responsibility, over time, for the security and governance of their country, ... Because long-term stability comes not from the presence of foreign forces but from the development of functioning local institutions. The sooner Iraqis can take responsibility for their own affairs the sooner U.S. forces can come home.

time is not on our side.

They know that they're the ones who are going to have to grab that country, and it's time,

Obviously the hope and goal of all of the nations that have troops in the Balkans, is that over a period of time the parties on the ground will sort through their differences in a peaceful and constructive way and find the kind of civil structures that will enable them to have the stability that would be necessary for them on a more durable basis,

A very smart weapon, a good weapon might work 85 to 90 percent of the time. The rest of the time it doesn't work right. Now that's a very good percentage, ... But it means that there is one out of 10 that is not going to do what it was intended to do.

I would guess there will be an end, ... Can I tell you for sure No. ... This isn't World War I or World War II, that starts and then ends. Take Afghanistan. We've moved from major military activities to a point where at the present time, the vast majority of the country is in a stabilization security mode.

The impression that's left around the world is that we plan to occupy the country, we plan to use their bases over the long period of time, and it's flat false, ... We went in there to change a regime, we went in there to find weapons of mass destruction, we went in there to stop them from threatening their neighbors, and we have said precisely what we're there for, and it's not what that article says.

We have agreed to the findings and recommendations to strengthen our alliance and achieve strategic objectives, ... Now is the time to move forward with the transformation of our alliance.

Our hope is that as we build up Iraqi forces we will be able to relieve the stress on our forces and see a reduction in coalition forces over some period of time, probably post-Iraqi election.

Over time, it would be nice if NATO developed counter-terrorist capabilities, which don't exist at the present time as a NATO function. They do exist within NATO countries,

They have been in contact with the Northern Alliance for some time,

I have absolutely full confidence in the way the detainees are being handled and treated, ... I've spent a lot of time talking to the people there about it.

As the capabilities of the Republic of Korea grow, obviously they will assume more and more responsibility, as they have been doing in recent years. As that happens in an orderly way, over time, there will be adjustments in the command relationship and those are the kinds of things allies discuss.

I can't think of a time when the relationship has been closer or more constructive,

In Afghanistan, people who are friendly and unfriendly are constantly meeting together. Indeed, sometimes the same people can be friendly and later unfriendly within a relatively short period of time,

I think what you are seeing is the Iraqi people, for the first time, wrestling with very tough, fundamental issues that are important to them, to their future, reflecting the history of the country. They've been proceeding in a very orderly, peaceful way,

The United States has a long relationship with the Philippines, ... Some time back, I signed understandings that we would provide some training and assistance to the Philippine government ... to deal with the terrorist problem that they have.

have had some forces in northern Iraq for some time, not associated with what's going on right now. But in terms of any large numbers, they are not.

As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time.

Our department doesn't do that kind of thing. It's against the law. He's a private citizen. Private citizens say all kinds of things all the time.