Donald Rumsfeld Quotes (614 Quotes)

It is important to go after the air defenses of the Taliban, and their aircraft, ... We are also targeting the command facilities of terrorist forces.

Every society, ... has to be vigilant against another type of Great Wall that can be a burden on man's talents and is born from a fear of them - a wall that limits speech, information and choices.

More -- much more -- will be asked of you in the weeks and months ahead. This is especially true of those who are in the field.

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

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

Those who sabotage the efforts to restore power and water and other services are not attacking the coalition, they are attacking you, the Iraqi people. With your cooperation we're dealing with them.

It's 16 to three. I think it's a mistake, and what we have to do for the United States is to make sure that planning does go forward.

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the Northern Alliance has effective control ... there are pockets of resistance within the city that continue.

Space issues are complex and merit a renewed focus. A more compressive management and organizational approach is necessary to assign clear responsibilities and accountability for national security space programs,

I guess the one word that comes to mind is really 'duty.' You've done yours, ... The people of New York have done theirs, and the men and women in uniform are still doing theirs.

I think it's important to think of the setting six months ago, ... Six months ago, the Iraqis refused to have inspectors in their country. They were ignoring 16 resolutions of the United Nations.

Additional capabilities for airborne reconnaissance, heavy-lift ground equipment and medical support are being identified and dispatched from within the Central Command region,

If every time two or three people disagreed we changed the secretary of defense of the United States, it would be like a merry-go-round.

In unanimity there may well be either cowardice or uncritical thinking.

The United States would be very interested in getting our hands on them and very interested in seeing they did not remain in the country.

It would be a very good thing if he were out of business,

People who are willing to risk their lives need to know the truth, ... They need to understand that they are there based on decisions that were made in good faith, by responsible people, and that this world is going to be a lot better off with Saddam Hussein gone and with that country on a path toward democracy.

We're not going to re-implement a draft. There is no need for it at all, ... The disadvantages of using compulsion to bring into the armed forces the men and women needed are notable.

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.

Baghdad hides its weapons, moves them and knows U.S. secrets for detecting them,

being welcomed by the people.

Like all alliances, this relationship must and is, in fact, evolving to remain strong and relevant, ... It's our joint responsibility to manage the alliance's evolution, and we are getting that job done.

They have engaged in a number of such raids and have been successful in at least nine that I know of, ... They intend to proceed in an orderly way.

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

you could have a constitution not only passed -- which I have believed all along it would pass -- but passed with the support of a much broader element within the Sunni community.

I certainly would not have estimated that we would have had the number of individuals lost that we have had lost in the last week,

In recent day, there has been a focus on a few who have betrayed our values and sullied the reputation of our country. Like each of you, I'm sure, and like most Americans, I was stunned. It was a body blow,

We discussed the impressive economic progress China has made in recent years and the emergence of China on the world scene. We also talked about the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the success of China's second manned space flight for which I offer my congratulations,

The war against terrorism... will use every element of American influence and power, ... The aim is to create conditions for sustained anti-terrorist and humanitarian relief efforts in Afghanistan.

and I know for a fact that in a number of cases the coordination is quite good.

Insofar as I am aware, we have gotten everything from Saudi Arabia that we have asked them to do. I have been in touch with the Saudi leadership, and there is no question they are our friends.

There are an awful lot of people chasing the wrong rabbit here, it seems to me,

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

And why the intelligence proved wrong, I'm not in a position to say. I simply don't know. But the world is a lot better off with Saddam Hussein in jail than they were with him in power.

I wish the constitution were complete rather than delayed by seven days, or up to seven days.

Here was a man who was photographed hundreds of times shooting off rifles and showing how tough he was, and in fact, he wasn't very tough, he was cowering in a hole in the ground, and had a pistol and didn't use it and certainly did not put up any fight at all,

And as I understand it, the Judiciary Committee preferred to have an open hearing on a classified matter, and therefore the department declined to participate in an open hearing on a classified matter,

We have broad and deep evidence that suggests that there are people going through that decision-making process throughout that country today, and that is a good thing,

The resolution addresses the subject, and it's up to the Security Council to make conclusions about whether it is or is not a material breach,

Even as we continue to prosecute the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, we are learning lessons that are important,

Sometimes they might use a word that I might not, or sometimes they might use a word that they won't again,

We're in a war. We've got serious business to be doing,

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.

I think leaving the American people with the impression that it was an election that was valid -- there were over 1,000 candidates that were disqualified, that weren't even allowed to run,

I'll just simply say they do have weapons of mass destruction, ... And the purpose of the U.N. resolution, of course, is for them to allow inspectors in and allow inspectors to make some conclusions.

The fact of the matter is that the military experts on the ground from the beginning have said what they thought the number ought to be,

One might be he is not physically able, because he is injured in some way, ... Another might be because if he is afraid if he does it, he will get caught.

Given their geography and situation, I thought that meeting with the leadership there would be a good thing,

With the press there is no "off the record."

I honestly believe that these two are particularly bad characters and that it's important for the Iraqi people to see them, to know they are gone, to know they are dead and to know they are not coming back,