John Dickerson Quotes

These soldiers deserve a better defense secretary than the one we have.

As Secretary of Defense I have to be cautious and prudent.

Only four secretaries of defense served longer than Robert M. Gates. Many others were as dedicated; many sacrificed a great deal. Alone among them all, however, Mr. Gates had the task of turning around two wars that the U.S. was losing.

Don Rumsfeld is the finest secretary of defense the nation has ever had.

As a former secretary of defense, I think Donald Rumsfeld is the best secretary of defense the United States has ever had.

There are in most states one or two ministers of war, one of whom is the minister of naval affairs.

We must have a Secretary of Defense who will manage, and not be managed, by the Pentagon.

It's important that the American society and the American military not get far apart…I think the people have to understand their military and make a clear decision as to what they want it to be

Secretary Perry became the 19th secretary of defense and the first enlisted man to serve in that role. He had time in the highest ranks of the Pentagon and was instrumental in the dismantlement of the nuclear warheads in the United States and Russia. Throughout his career, he has devoted himself to protecting the interests of the nation.

Certainly, we shouldn't go about making a habit of taking generals and making them secretary of defense.

The National defense is one of the cardinal duties of a statesman.

By nominating Chuck Hagel to be his Defense secretary, President Obama is putting forward an aloof contrarian who doesn't suffer fools - a striving politician who considers himself above politics.

My job is to give the president and secretary of defense military advice before they know they need it.

I had no difficulty as Secretary of Defense moving from the Bush administration to the Obama administration.

The Defense Department has a great deal of influence on foreign policy, and State has very little impact on defense policy.

Let no one expect us to disarm unilaterally. We are not a naive people.

Ministers [government officials] in the conduct of war … assume that war having been declared, the sole duty and anxiety of Ministers should consist in supporting generals and armies in the field.

Our military structure and tactics have been designed more to protect the service interest than the national interest.

In a democracy such as ours military policy is dependent on public opinion.

A commander in chief signs on not to reflect public opinion but to defend the country and the constitution..

Moscow believes that using force constitutes strategic defense.

In picking Gen. Jim Mattis for Defense secretary, President-elect Donald Trump has said that he found his 'Gen. George Patton.' Yet that label may not really capture what makes Mattis a distinctive choice.

There's a long tradition in this country of questioning generals.

I don't think the U.S. military is conservative. It's pragmatic.

I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history. We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement - that's the kindest word I can give you - of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war.