Donald Rumsfeld

Our task, your task... is to try to connect the dots before something happens. People say, 'Well, where's the smoking gun?' Well, we don't want to see a smoking gun from a weapon of mass destruction.

The way to do well is to do well.

The Secretary of Defense is not a super General or Admiral. His task is to exercise civilian control over the Department for the Commander-in-Chief and the country.

You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe.

Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps engender the support decisions need to be successfully implemented.

In the execution of Presidential decisions work to be true to his views, in fact and tone.

Leave the President's family business to him. You will have plenty to do without trying to manage the First Family. They are likely to do fine without your help.

Imagine, a September 11 with weapons of mass destruction. It's not 3,000. It's tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children.

Let your family, staff, and friends know that you're still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.

Politics is human beings; it's addition rather than subtraction.

Oh my goodness gracious, what you can buy off the Internet in terms of overhead photography. A trained ape can know an awful lot of what is going on in this world, just by punching on his mouse, for a relatively modest cost.

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