The major portion of the documentary is spent addressing excerpts from the countless memos, nicknamed "Yellow Perils" by his first Pentagon staff and "Snowflakes" by the second, that Rumsfeld wrote during his time as a congressman and advisor to four different presidents, twice as United States Secretary of Defense.

[2][3] It also focuses on a response Rumsfeld gave to a question at a U.S. Department of Defense news briefing on February 12, 2002, about the lack of evidence linking the government of Iraq with the supply of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups.

[3][4] At the beginning of the documentary, Rumsfeld argues that a major purpose of the Department of Defense is to evaluate "unknown knowns", or "the things you think you know, that it turns out you did not", to anticipate hostile actions before they take place.

[2] As the interviews proceed, the director is able to catch his subject lying on camera, though when he does, Rumsfeld does not acknowledge it or deflects the conversation, with Morris finding the politician unwilling or unable to engage in meaningful self-reflection.

"[3] In follow up, Morris questions him about the so-called "Torture Memos" sent by Assistant Attorney General John Yoo to the Department of Defense describing enhanced interrogation techniques.

"[14] Mary Corliss of Time wrote: "Morris's movie is a cat-and-mouse game, and Rumsfeld is the cat, virtually licking his chops as he toys with, and then devours, another rival.

Both films consist largely of interviews with former Defense Secretary octogenarians who were dismissed prematurely from their posts, and who discuss their roles as the voice of some of the most unpopular wars in American history—for McNamara, Vietnam and for Rumsfeld, Iraq.