Donald Rumsfeld tries to expand on some of his linguistic peculiarities in Errol Morris' fascinating The Unknown Known. For example, there's the "known known," which is a thing that we know we know.
There’s the “known unknown,” which is something that we don’t know
but we know we don’t know it. Then there’s the “unknown known,” the things you
think you know that it turns out you did not know. Maybe an unknown known is
the exit strategy for the war in Iraq.
Watching the former two-time secretary of defense twist himself into
knots as he answers the dozens of questions that Morris throws at him off
camera, one thing becomes clear: Rumsfeld is the unknown known. We think we
know him, but we don’t. His answers change. He dodges questions. He says the US
should not assassinate a foreign leader (in this case, Saddam Hussein), but
suggests that invading a country in order to facilitate regime change is
perfectly acceptable, even if the leader ultimately ends up dead. It’s like
Donald Rumsfeld is retconning his second stint
as Secretary of Defense.
Just remember when watching this must-see film that the root of all
these conversations is nearly 4,500 dead Americans and more than 500,000 dead Iraqis. File that under
“known known.”
THE UNKNOWN KNOWN
Directed
by Errol Morris
With
Donald Rumsfeld
CCA Cinematheque
PG-13
102 min.
Santa Fe Reporter