Donald Rumsfeld

Never hire anyone you can’t fire.

— Donald Rumsfeld

Remember where you came from.

— Donald Rumsfeld

Look at me! I'm sweet and lovable!

— Donald Rumsfeld

The Cold War was a war, and we won it.

— Donald Rumsfeld

The way to do well is to do well.

— Donald Rumsfeld

I don't do quagmires.

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

The implication that there was something wrong with the war plan is amusing.

— Donald Rumsfeld

Sausage making and policy-making shouldn't be seen close-up.

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

The worst mistake is to have the best ladder and the wrong wall.

— Donald Rumsfeld

If you develop rules, never have more than ten.

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

And there is, I am certain, among the Iraqi people a respect for the care and the precision that went into the…

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

If a prospective Presidential approach can't be explained clearly enough to be understood well, it probably hasn't been thought through well enough.…

— Donald Rumsfeld

After the German abstention at the UN, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle commented that Germany doesn't always have to stand on the side…

— Donald Rumsfeld

There are things that we know, and there are things that we don't know. Then there are the things that we don't…

— Donald Rumsfeld

It is hard to put a price on some things. What is the value of having prevented nuclear weapons from getting into…

— Donald Rumsfeld

You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people…

— Donald Rumsfeld

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…

— Donald Rumsfeld

Watch the growth of middle level management. Don't automatically fill vacant jobs. Leave some positions unfilled for 6-8 months to see what…

— Donald Rumsfeld

Every country should be tired of going to war. War is a terrible thing. If I had been in Congress, as much…

— Donald Rumsfeld

It is worth reminding that being president is a tough job for anybody, and particularly so in the information age. There's such…

— Donald Rumsfeld

I think all of us have a sense if we imagine the kind of world we would face if the people who…

— Donald Rumsfeld

The reality is that terrorists can attack any time at any minute, 24 hours a day, using a variety of techniques, in…

— Donald Rumsfeld

If I look at the really important questions in [Middle East] region, I see Iran, where there is a strong desire for…

— Donald Rumsfeld

We [the USA] do have a big nation's problem. We have the problem of a nation that's got two oceans, oceans on…

— Donald Rumsfeld

In 2003, at the time I made my "Old Europe" comment, the center of gravity in NATO and Europe had long since…

— Donald Rumsfeld

Whatever new threats and challenges may emerge, our nation will be able to face them squarely, deal with them, and yet allow…

— Donald Rumsfeld

As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have…

— Donald Rumsfeld

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

— Donald Rumsfeld

When you're skiing, if you're not falling you're not trying.

— Donald Rumsfeld