Donald Rumsfeld Quotes

Weakness is provocative.

Weakness invites war.

No man could know whether war might not at any moment break out.

Weakness and ambivalence lead to war

If you walk through life in a fighting pose with your fists balled up and ready to strike, someone, someday, somewhere, is going to want to test your mettle.

I'm just a regular guy, but if you cross me it will get physical.

Russia has been too weak, and the weak get beaten.

Weapons are the tools of fear.

France is, and must always remain, England’s greatest danger.

A man without a stick will be bitten even by a sheep.

You must get clear of the navy yards; if you do not put them down, they will put you down ou must get clear of the navy yards; if you do not put them down, they will put you down.

You tell that imperial bastard in Mississippi to keep out of Louisiana. Tell that son of a bitch that I am not just using an expression; I am referring to the circumstances of his birth.

There is a rank due to the United States among nations, which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure the peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.

It must be thoroughly understood that war is a necessity, and that the more readily we accept it, the less will be the ardor of our opponents.

… without the steel helmet and gun barrel, we shall not be able to plant a tree or build a house.... Let us not be afraid to see the hatred that accompanies and consumes the lives of hundreds of thousands of Arabs who sit all around us and wait for the moment when their hands will be able to reach our blood.

It is not important what the other side says or means. What is important are the military capabilities of the other side.

Politics is the womb in which war develops.”

If somebody comes to me looking for a fight, they might get one.

Disrespect is the weapon of the weak

If you want to mess with me, you'd rather be ready for the consequences.

What had started out as a game was now an open challenge, as well as a direct threat. Any further action would bear results, it was clear from the way his gaze smoldered into mine. In that way, it was like an optical erection.

You gonna keep staring at me, Great Acheron, or are you ready to chew me a new one?

Preparation for war is a constant stimulus to suspicion and ill will.

I have a gift for enraging people, but if I ever bore you it will be with a knife.

I don't think you need to go looking for the enemy. He's going to look for you.