Donald Rumsfeld Government Quotations

The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it can better be handled privately, by voluntary organizations, or by local or state governments.

Many people around the President have sizeable egos before entering government, some with good reason. Their new positions will do little to moderate their egos.

The only way the inspectors can find anything is if the Iraqi government cooperates and shows it to them, ... Inspectors can't find things. They can only inspect what they've been shown.

have not done what the Pakistan government has done -- put troops along the border and prevent terrorists from escaping out of Afghanistan into their country.

people all across the spectrum, insurgents and opponents, people kind of leaning that way, people in the middle, people leaning toward the government and then the government.

Our government has made a considered judgment that it was appropriate to transfer these individuals to the government of the United Kingdom,

We, needless to say, do not want to leave abruptly in a way that could inject an instability in this situation, which is why we're working with the interim government to see if we can be helpful in getting their army going and up to speed,

It's a difficult thing today to be informed about our government even without all the secrecy.

When it comes to reconstruction, before we turn to the American taxpayer, we will turn first to the resources of the Iraqi government and the international community.

Have a deputy and develop a successor. Don't be consumed by the job or you'll risk losing your balance. Keep your mooring lines to the outside world - family, friends, neighbors, people out of government, and people who may not agree with you.

The United States has a long relationship with the Philippines, ... Some time back, I signed understandings that we would provide some training and assistance to the Philippine government ... to deal with the terrorist problem that they have.

The United States government is not going to make any arrangement with any other country that would in any way undermine our security agreement with Japan,

As a result, we have some folks in that country that have been working with the government and helping them think through ways of doing things,

They've got a peaceful way to change that government -- through the constitution, through the elections. These people aren't trying to promote something other than disorder and to take over that country and turn it into a caliphate and then spread it around the world.