Donald Rumsfeld Quotes

There are known knowns; there are things we know we know.

As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know.

But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know.

You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.

Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.

If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.

Leadership is not about being liked, it’s about being respected.

Success is never final and failure is never fatal.

The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Change is not merely necessary to life, it is life.

In a long and difficult war, we always find ourselves at some point where the tactics are not working.

The message is that there are no knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns.

You cannot make a deal with reality. You can only deal with reality.

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.

If you think of the world as a place in delicate balance, you will see that ecosystems are being destroyed, water resources are being depleted, and pollution is a serious problem.

The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.

The way future wars will be fought may make our military capabilities inadequate or obsolete.

America and its partners do not seek an indefinite presence in the Middle East.

Donald Rumsfeld Quotes part 2

I believe what I said yesterday. I don’t know what I said, but I know what I think, and I assume it’s what I said.

We do know of certain knowledge that he [Osama Bin Laden] is either in Afghanistan, or in some other country, or dead.

Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.

As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know.

Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know.

But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know.

You go to war with the judgments you have, not the judgment you might want or wish to have at a later time.

Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.

If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.

Leadership is not about being liked, it’s about being respected.

Success is never final and failure is never fatal.

The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Change is not merely necessary to life, it is life.

In a long and difficult war, we always find ourselves at some point where the tactics are not working.

The message is that there are no knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns.

You cannot make a deal with reality. You can only deal with reality.

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.

If you think of the world as a place in delicate balance, you will see that ecosystems are being destroyed, water resources are being depleted, and pollution is a serious problem.

The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.

The way future wars will be fought may make our military capabilities inadequate or obsolete.

America and its partners do not seek an indefinite presence in the Middle East.

I believe what I said yesterday. I don’t know what I said, but I know what I think, and I assume it’s what I said.

We do know of certain knowledge that he [Osama Bin Laden] is either in Afghanistan, or in some other country, or dead.

Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.

As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know.

Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know.

But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know.