Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck Quotes

The military has to think in terms of worst case scenarios. In a sense, they have to play the pessimist.

This is something that baffles me about managers: if you know the formation that you will revert to if you are in trouble, why not start with it?

Too many families and homes remain unnecessarily vulnerable to natural disasters like hurricanes. While mitigation will never eliminate the risk to homeowners, it could reduce loss and, in many cases, save a family's home. For every $1 spent on mitigation, $4 in post-storm cleanup and rebuilding is saved.

No, but you've got to be here in case something does happen.

But I warn my colleagues that we will fail in our efforts to protect the homeland if we do not take additional steps to avoid a trade-off between protecting ourselves against terrorists attacks and preparing for and responding to natural disasters.

I think the idea that you would do everything you can to prevent what is coming at you by way of something very disruptive - a 9/11 - it's a no-brainer.

Most cases, I would say, in a huge amount of cases, countries that have worked with us and have used our financial facilities have come out quick... more quickly and in a better shape from a crisis than would have come out otherwise.

What has happened to America's survival instincts?

I am doing my best to find it. I will find it before the public finds it. I will get out of it before it's too late. The reason I will do that is because that's what I'm paid to do.

Economic and financial crisis are getting much more usual, and they are not confined to a given country but they immediately spread all over the world, and you have to be prepared for that.

Tunisia, which is dear to all of us, is going through difficult circumstances, exceptional circumstances, that necessitate exceptional measures to face them and prevent a worse situation Our security forces are in a full alert status, but we do have weaknesses as our prime minister admitted. We are not blaming anyone, but we are calling for everyone to feel and act responsibly. If such incidents happen again, the state will collapse. It is the duty of the president to take a stance.

The safety of the people is the first and foremost responsibility of government… We are not as prepared as we should be with our public safety network…. The margin for error is exceedingly and uniquely low.

In the military we plan for the worst case, because we have learned that if you do not, you will be surprised.

I fear, my Lords, it is too much the temper of this country to be insensible of the approach of danger, until it comes with accumulated terror upon us.

We are ready for an unforeseen event that may or may not occur .

The safety of the American people has got to be our number one priority. That is our most important problem.

Sometimes we have to think very clearly about the unthinkable because the unthinkable sometimes happens.

There is nothing we can do to assure that this will never happen, but there is a lot we can do to assure that it happens more rarely.

The ability to get to the verge without getting into the war is a necessary art …. If you are scared to go to the brink, you are lost.

Historically, decisive security action took place only after a disaster had occurred or a specific plot had been discovered.

Part of the genius of diplomacy is to resolve issues before crises come along.

A danger foreseen is half-avoided.

You can’t prepare for the best case; you have to prepare for the worst case.

When a government faces an evil that might be avoided, the usual pattern is to first debate whether or not the evil is real or imagined; then determine how evil it really is; then is it an appropriate function of government to avoid it? Then what are the alternative ways to avoid it? Then what are the costs to avoid it? And finally, is the benefit of avoiding the evil worth the cost? In those cases where it is, it is by this time too late to avoid the evil and discussions shift to ameliorating the evil.

Reducing future risks requires paying some immediate costs.