John Poindexter Quotes

A collection of quotes by John Poindexter.

John Poindexter is a retired naval officer and former United States government official. Born on August 12, 1936, in Washington, D.C., he is best known for his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair during the Reagan administration.

Poindexter graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958 and served in the Navy for over 25 years, reaching the rank of rear admiral. He held various positions throughout his military career, including commanding officer of a guided missile destroyer and director of the Joint Cruise Missile Project.

In 1983, Poindexter joined the National Security Council (NSC) staff, eventually becoming President Reagan's National Security Advisor in 1985. However, his tenure was marred by the Iran-Contra scandal, in which covert sales of weapons to Iran were made in an effort to secure the release of American hostages held in Lebanon. These funds were then illegally diverted to support the Contras rebels in Nicaragua, contravening congressional legislation.

Poindexter resigned from his position in the NSC in November 1986 and was subsequently indicted on multiple charges, including conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to Congress. In 1990, he was convicted on several counts but those convictions were later overturned on appeal due to immunity granted for his congressional testimony.

After leaving government service, Poindexter went on to work in the private sector, primarily focusing on technology and national security.

I really believe that we don't have to make a trade-off betw

I really believe that we don't have to make a trade-off between security and privacy. I think technology gives us the ability to have both.

John Poindexter

Technology

You accept failure as a possible outcome of some of the expe

You accept failure as a possible outcome of some of the experiments. If you don't get failures, you're not pushing hard enough on the objectives.

John Poindexter

Failure

I knew from the beginning that privacy was going to be a hug

I knew from the beginning that privacy was going to be a huge issue, especially with regard to applying Total Information Awareness in counterterrorism. Because if the technology development was successful, a logical place to apply it was inside the United States.

John Poindexter

Technology