cruise missiles and television images of airplanes dropping bombs, and that's just false. This is a totally different war. We need a new vocabulary. We need to get rid of old think and start thinking about this thing the way it really is." - Meaning and context.">
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on CBS' Evening News, October 9, 2001 http://www.defenselink.mil/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=2051
“

We're so conditioned as a people to think that a military campaign has to be cruise missiles and television images of airplanes dropping bombs, and that's just false. This is a totally different war. We need a new vocabulary. We need to get rid of old think and start thinking about this thing the way it really is.

— Donald Rumsfeld

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "We're so conditioned as a people to think that a military campaign has to be cruise missiles and television images of airplanes dropping bombs, and that's just false. This is a totally different war. We need a new vocabulary. We need to get rid of old think and start thinking about this thing the way it really is." in the context of "on CBS' Evening News, October 9, 2001 http://www.defenselink.mil/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=2051" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Donald Rumsfeld" (Quotes, 2000s) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Donald Rumsfeld#need#conditioned#television#vocabulary#airplanes#different#military#campaign#missiles#dropping#thinking
Donald Rumsfeld

About Donald Rumsfeld

Donald Rumsfeld (9 July 1932 – 29 June 2021) was the 21st United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 2001 to 2006, succeeded by Robert Gates. He also served as the 13th Defense Secretary in 1975–1977 under President Ford, and in other roles under various presidents.