732 Quotes by Donald Rumsfeld

You can have a broad popular democracy movement and have it end being taken over by the most vicious people and the result is you don’t end up with free political systems or free economic systems, you end up with a handful of radicals controlling the country.

That’s what makes leadership so difficult and truly outstanding leaders so rare. Tough decisions involve weighing not just benefits and risks, but also competing principles and sometimes even conflicting rules.

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

Five days or five months, but it certainly isn’t going to last longer.

Being Vice President is difficult. Don’t make it tougher.

When there happens to be a weapon of mass destruction suspect site in an area that we occupy and if people have time, they’ll look at it.

When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don’t eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.

Don’t divide the world into “them” and “us.”

I cannot give any assurances. I’m not in that business. I haven’t been, and I don’t intend to get into it. People who try to make predictions about things or assurances often find they’re wrong.