美国前国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德是个鹰派人物，他在伊拉克战争中的作用常遭人诟病。他的功过姑且不论，作为个人，拉姆斯菲尔德有很高的IQ和语言天赋，即使是自视甚高、评价同僚眼光极为苛刻的基辛格，对他的天赋也赞誉有加。 (见基辛格“Years of Renewal"一书)。与他那位拙于言辞的顶头上司小布什不同，拉姆斯菲尔德常说出一些带有哲理的“名言”， 比如：

There are known knowns. There are known unknowns. There are also unknown unknowns. (source: PBS Frontline, "Bush's War")

These are things we know we know. There are things we know we don't know. There are also things we know we don't know we don't know. (source: Bob Woodward, "Plan on Attacks")

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. (source:  Movie "W.", referring to Iraq's WMD search)

Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes. (source: The Washington Post)

If you start with a false premise, then, by perfectly logical reasoning, you will arrive at a perfectly illogical conclusion. (source: PBS Frontline, "Bush's War")

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much. (source: CNN)

以下几条是我的favorite:

Amidst all the clutter, beyond all the obstacles, aside from all the static, are the goals set. Put your head down, do the best job possible, let the flak pass, and work towards those goals. (my most favorite)

Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small. (source: The Washington Post)

If in doubt, don't do it; If still in doubt, do what's right. (source: The Washington Post)

For people who's only tool in their tool box is a hammer, all the problems in the world look like nails. (source: Bob Woodward, "Plan on Attacks")

It is one thing to make mistakes when you are pushing the envelopes.  It is quite another thing to make mistakes when you are walking to work. (source: Bob Woodward, "State of Denial")

这最后一条，我常用来提醒自己和组里的成员。

"There are also things we know we don't know we don't know. "

我的老美同事最喜欢在工作上引用这句了，工作和生活的确有许多unknown。

绝对的鹰派。指望打仗 for personal gain。Don't like him.

What do you mean? What kind of personal gain did he make from going to war?

"You know what you know and you know what you don't know, that's true knowledge." Confucian had said that 2000 years ago. Almost became a cliche to this day. What I think can be considered Rumsfeld's major contribution to Confucianism is that he pointedly observed that "there are things we know we don't know we don't know".

In a way, he pointed out that there are "blindspots" in any "true knowledge". Sort of modern "street Kantism" (or neo-Kantism, for that matter.)

If you are making weapons, you would advice His Majesty to launch wars abroad; if you are planting cotton, you would advice His Majesty to sell clothes abroad, wouldn't you，悟空?

How do you get to know Rumsfeld? Isn't it because of the Iraq War?

The same thing could be said to Condoleezza Rice. She's the one who studied Cold War under Albright's father. She came to fame because of the Iraq war too.

That is the kind of personal gain I meant.

Nevertheless, Chinese must be grateful to them. If Bush Administration didn't plunge into a deep pond as Iraq war, the development in China would have been interfered, might very likely be slowed down.

They say, “机不可失，失不再来。”不过就是这个意思。

Condoleezza Rice and Rumsfeld, thank you very much. 你们在中国人民心头建立了一座丰碑。

How do I get to know Rumsfeld? No, I don't know him at all. If you are talking about how I got to know of him, it is not becasue of the Iraq War at all. He was SecDef twice, and was also Gerald Ford's right-hand man. I had learned of this political prodigy from reading of and about Kissinger. Kissinger thought very highly of Rumsfeld, believing that he should run for president becasue he had the making of a truly great president. Not sure if Kissinger has changed his mind or not after seeing Rumsfeld's second tour at the Pentagon..

Long before the Iraq War, Rumsfeld had already been a highly accomplished man. Unlike Bush Jr., he hardly needed anything to boost his profile or make any personal gains. He took $7.9M/year paycut to become SecDef for the 2nd time, with the ambition of reforming and modernizing US military. When he was Secdef, he got to his office at 6am everyday including Saturdays, and routinely worked 14 hour day. One may critisize his policy failures and his ideology, and evidently he has many personal flaws (one of them being too cocky), but I do not think one has enough evidence to pin him down as self-serving.

Interestingly enough, although Rumsfled served under Bush Jr. for 6 long years, he and Bush Sr. had been political foes. They were constantly at odds, frequently crossing swords. Rummseld thought of Bush Sr. as a lightweight, lacking the needed resolve and grit to finish Sadam off after the 1st Persian Gulf War. That's part of the reason he wanted to go after Iraq, in order to wipe out Sadam once and for all, finishiing what he considered unfinished business left by Bush Sr.. He succeeded in this account, but failed miserably on many other fronts, including post-war planning and reconstruction. No doubt about that.

悟空有所不知。All Rumsfeld's essence lies in “Rumsfeld Doctrine”:

1,  导弹领先－－－High-technology combat systems;(Next time, he uses this doctrine, he might be thinking it all over again. )

2，地毯式轰炸－－－Reliance on air forces; (I don't know what to say, if he doesn't care how many people die)

3，小部队作战－－－ Small, nimble ground forces (Remind me of Jap's 炮楼, watching the whole area with small number of troops. It doesn't work very well--remember 游击队炸炮楼). This one is all over recent Hollywood war movies.

Donald Rumsfeld 教导我们说：There are known knowns. There are known unknowns. There are also unknown unknowns.

导弹领先 for all known knowns.

地毯式轰炸 for all unknown unknowns.

小部队作战 for all known unknowns.



Now tell me, he still commands your admiration.