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39 quotes by Robert M. Gates

Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American statesman and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W. Bush was Director of Central Intelligence. Gates was also an officer in the United States Air Force and during the early part of his military...
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A wild and crazy weekend involves sitting on the front porch, smoking a cigar, reading a book.

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One of my favorite little sayings is, 'To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.'

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There is no international problem that can be addressed or solved without the engagement and leadership of the United States and everybody in the... →

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Well, I've ruffled a few feathers at all the institutions I've led. But I think that's part of leadership.

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I've been very sensitive for a long time to the repeated pattern, during economic hard times or after a war, of the United States'... →

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I read in the press, and therefore it must be true, that no secretary of defense had ever been quoted as arguing for a bigger budget for State.

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I've spent my entire adult life with the United States as a superpower and one that had no compunction about spending what it took to sustain... →

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One of the big changes in the Congress since I first came to Washington is that all of these folks go home every weekend. They used to play golf... →

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Even when I was at CIA, I'd go to visit foreign leaders and I'd say, 'You know, I'm not a diplomat. I'm just an old CIA... →

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If Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us anything in recent history, it is the unpredictability of war and that these things are easier to get into... →

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I have always voted for who I believed was the best person.

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I have tried to maintain civil relationships with everyone I meet - and, even if I violently disagree with them, try to be respectful.

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I wish I could set deadlines for the Congress, but that's just not the way the Constitution is written.

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