732 Quotes by Donald Rumsfeld

I think all of us have a sense if we imagine the kind of world we would face if the people who bombed the mess hall in Mosul, or the people who did the bombing in Spain, or the people who attacked the United States in New York, shot down the plane over Pennsylvania and attacked the Pentagon, the people who cut off peoples' heads on television to intimidate, to frighten indeed the word 'terrorized' is just that. Its purpose is to terrorize, to alter behavior, to make people be something other than that which they want to be.

We are at some distance from effectively finishing the task.

some sort of document of that type is certainly a likelihood.

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.

Our challenge in this new century is a different one, ... It's really to defend our nation against the unknown, the uncertain and, what we have to understand, will be the unexpected. That may seem on the face of it an impossible task but it is not.

Whatever new threats and challenges may emerge, our nation will be able to face them squarely, deal with them, and yet allow our people to continue to live free and unafraid. The decisions you make, the courage and creativity you bring to your responsibilities, will determine America's future. Liberty and our way of life are fragile gifts - their care is in your hands. We thank you for stepping forward to shoulder that immense responsibility. Your country is grateful, and proud of each of you.

Never hire anyone you can’t fire.

There are countries like Paraguay and others, their neighboring countries, they're all interested in being able to grow and function in a manner that's free of external influence and to do things in ways that fit their history and their circumstance,

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,