Posted on 12/10/2005 8:04:14 AM PST by humint
Donald Rumsfeld, in 2004 tried to provide a Copernican concept to the American people but found himself without a vehicle to deliver it. The MSM was unable to translate the ideological depth of Mr. Rumsfeld’s high-level explanation of the war in Iraq at the time. What he said, I imagine, is virtually impossible to understand in a shallow sound bite therefore his detractors seized on his quote as an error in leadership. Not because it wasn’t genius, but because they were incapable of understanding him through MSM sound bites. Do an internet search on “Rumsfeld unknown unknowns” and you’ll find the ignorant misrepresentations of the quote I’m referring to. This work is in retaliation to destructive malignment of genius like these.
The quote:
"As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know."
Our Secretary of Defense, God bless him, gave the American people the ultimate “big picture” in all that the human mind has encountered and ever will ever encounter. The true genius, in my opinion is contained in the last part of his quote; “concepts” we don’t know we don’t know. The humility required to admit that not only does an authority figure not know something, but also admit that there exists uncharted “intellectual real estate” is nothing short of genius and a requirement for democratic leadership. Citizens and volunteer armies agree to be led through trust developed by integrity! We all know leaders cannot fully manifest the future they describe and we envision. Leaders should not be held responsible for taking actions that lead to a future that is not identical to our best wishes. A leader is accountable only to his or her word and vision!
Pragmatically, posting this quote has taken it back [in terms of cyber space] from the ignorant detractors who used it against Rumsfeld. This FR page will likely show up in similar searches for key words as the ones I used to find the alignment of genius referenced above. But more importantly, we should take a step in an ideological direction for a moment. In our human experience, we come to know that we don’t know we don’t know concepts when we truly start to explore the world and societies around ourselves. Without exploration there can be no rationalization for that which we don’t know we don’t know. You know things that I don’t. You’ve experienced things that I haven’t. This exchange can introduce us both to concepts we don’t know we don’t know. In feeding you my experience I humbly hope to extend your scope of understanding and responsibility by revealing to you something you didn’t know you didn’t know. I’m sure you’ll return the favor in another post, at a later date. Thanks in advance...
Rumsfeld is a true intellectual and might be the best Secretary of Defense in our nation's history.
Donald H. Rumsfeld was sworn in as the 21st Secretary of Defense on January 20, 2001. Before assuming his present post, the former Navy pilot had also served as the 13th Secretary of Defense, White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, U.S. Congressman and chief executive officer of two Fortune 500 companies.
Secretary Rumsfeld is responsible for directing the actions of the Defense Department in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The war is being waged against a backdrop of major change within the Department of Defense. The department has developed a new defense strategy and replaced the old model for sizing forces with a newer approach more relevant to the 21st century. Secretary Rumsfeld proposed and the President approved a significant reorganization of the worldwide command structure, known as the Unified Command Plan, that resulted in the establishment of the U.S. Northern Command and the U.S. Strategic Command, the latter charged with the responsibilities formerly held by the Strategic and Space Commands which were disestablished.
The Department also has refocused its space capabilities and fashioned a new concept of strategic deterrence that increases security while reducing strategic nuclear weapons. To help strengthen the deterrent, the missile defense research and testing program has been reorganized and revitalized, free of the restraints of the ABM treaty.
Mr. Rumsfeld attended Princeton University on academic and NROTC scholarships (A.B., 1954) and served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as an aviator and flight instructor. In 1957, he transferred to the Ready Reserve and continued his Naval service in flying and administrative assignments as a drilling reservist until 1975. He transferred to the Standby Reserve when he became Secretary of Defense in 1975 and to the Retired Reserve with the rank of Captain in 1989.
In 1957, he came to Washington, DC to serve as Administrative Assistant to a Congressman. After a stint with an investment banking firm, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois in 1962, at the age of 30, and was re-elected in 1964, 1966, and 1968.
Mr. Rumsfeld resigned from Congress in 1969 during his fourth term to join the President's Cabinet. From 1969 to 1970, he served as Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity and Assistant to the President. From 1971 to 1972, he was Counsellor to the President and Director of the Economic Stabilization Program. In 1973, he left Washington, DC, to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium (1973-1974).
In August 1974, he was called back to Washington, DC, to serve as Chairman of the transition to the Presidency of Gerald R. Ford. He then became Chief of Staff of the White House and a member of the President's Cabinet (1974-1975). He served as the 13th U.S. Secretary of Defense, the youngest in the country's history (1975-1977).
From 1977 to 1985 he served as Chief Executive Officer, President, and then Chairman of G.D. Searle & Co., a worldwide pharmaceutical company. The successful turnaround there earned him awards as the Outstanding Chief Executive Officer in the Pharmaceutical Industry from the Wall Street Transcript (1980) and Financial World (1981). From 1985 to 1990 he was in private business.
Mr. Rumsfeld served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Instrument Corporation from 1990 to 1993. General Instrument Corporation was a leader in broadband transmission, distribution, and access control technologies. Until being sworn in as the 21st Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld served as Chairman of the Board of Gilead Sciences, Inc., a pharmaceutical company.
Before returning for his second tour as Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld chaired the bipartisan U.S. Ballistic Missile Threat Commission, in 1998, and the U.S. Commission to Assess National Security Space Management and Organization, in 2000.
During his business career, Mr. Rumsfeld continued his public service in a variety of Federal posts, including:
* Member of the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control (1982 - 1986);
* Special Presidential Envoy on the Law of the Sea Treaty (1982 - 1983);
* Senior Advisor to the President's Panel on Strategic Systems (1983 - 1984);
* Member of the U.S. Joint Advisory Commission on U.S./Japan Relations (1983 - 1984);
* Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East (1983 - 1984);
* Member of the National Commission on Public Service (1987 - 1990);
* Member of the National Economic Commission (1988 - 1989);
* Member of the Board of Visitors of the National Defense University (1988 - 1992);
* Member of the Commission on U.S./Japan Relations (1989 - 1991); and
* Member of the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission (1999 - 2000).
While in the private sector, Mr. Rumsfeld's civic activities included service as a member of the National Academy of Public Administration and a member of the boards of trustees of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the National Park Foundation, and as Chairman of the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Inc.
In 1977, Mr. Rumsfeld was awarded the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The first person who understood this called it "human wisdom." His name was Socrates.
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