In the months after his resignation, Rumsfeld toured the New York City publishing houses in preparation for a potential memoir.
After receiving what one industry source labeled "big bids", he reached an agreement with the Penguin Group to publish the book under its Sentinel HC imprint.

In 2007, Rumsfeld established The Rumsfeld Foundation, which focuses on encouraging public service in the United States and supporting the growth of free political and free economic systems abroad.
The educational foundation provides fellowships to talented individuals from the private sector who want to serve for some time in government.
Rumsfeld personally financed the foundation.
As of January 2014, the foundation has sponsored over 90 fellows from Central Asia, provided over $1.2 million in tuition and stipend support for graduate students, awarded over $3 million in microfinance grants, and donated over $2.4 million to charities for veterans affairs.

Rumsfeld declined to accept an advance for the publication of his memoir, and has said he is donating all proceeds from the work to veterans groups.
His book, entitled Known and Unknown: A Memoir, was released on February 8, 2011.

In conjunction with the publication of Known and Unknown, Rumsfeld established "The Rumsfeld Papers", a website with documents "related to the endnotes" of the book and his service during the George W. Bush administration; during the months that followed the book's publication, the website was expanded to include over 4,000 documents from his archive.
As of June 2011, the topics include his Congressional voting record, the Nixon administration, documents and memos of meetings while he was part of the Ford, Reagan, and George W. Bush administrations, private sector documents, and NATO documents, among others.

Rumsfeld was awarded the "Defender of the Constitution Award" at the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., on February 10, 2011.

After his retirement from government, Rumsfeld criticized former fellow Cabinet member Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State in his memoir, asserting that she was basically unfit for office.
In 2011, she responded, saying that Rumsfeld "doesn't know what he's talking about.
The reader may imagine what can be correct about the conflicted matter."

In February 2011, Rumsfeld endorsed the repeal of the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, saying that allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve "is an idea whose time has come".

In March 2011, Rumsfeld spoke out on the 2011 military intervention in Libya, where Rumsfeld told ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, that the Obama administration should  "recognize… the mission has to determine the coalition.
The coalition ought not determine the mission."
Rumsfeld also used the word "confusion" six times to describe the United Nations-backed military effort in Libya.

In October 2011, Rumsfeld conducted an interview with Al Jazeera's Washington, D.C. bureau chief Abderrahim Foukara.
Foukara asked Rumsfeld whether, in hindsight, the Bush administration had sent enough troops into Iraq to secure the borders of the country, and whether that made the United States culpable in the death of innocent Iraqis.
Foukara said people in the Pentagon told Rumsfeld the quantity of troops sent into Iraq was insufficient.

Rumsfeld said, "You keep making assertions which are fundamentally false.
No one in the Pentagon said they were not enough," Foukara pressed Rumsfeld repeatedly.
Rumsfeld then asked "Do you want to yell or do you want to have an interview?"
Foukara then asked "Do you think the numbers that you went to Iraq with did absolve you from the responsibility of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis killed by the Coalition and those criminals that you talked about?"
Rumsfeld called the question "pejorative", said Foukara was "not being respectful" (Foukara disagreed) and was "just talking over, and over, and over again".

Rumsfeld was the subject of the 2013 Errol Morris documentary The Unknown Known, the title a reference to his respons
In the months after his resignation, Rumsfeld toured the New York City publishing houses in preparation for a potential memoir. After receiving what one industry source labeled "big bids", he reached an agreement with the Penguin Group to publish the book under its Sentinel HC imprint.
In 2007, Rumsfeld established The Rumsfeld Foundation, which focuses on encouraging public service in the United States and supporting the growth of free political and free economic systems abroad. The educational foundation provides fellowships to talented individuals from the private sector who want to serve for some time in government. Rumsfeld personally financed the foundation. As of January 2014, the foundation has sponsored over 90 fellows from Central Asia, provided over $1.2 million in tuition and stipend support for graduate students, awarded over $3 million in microfinance grants, and donated over $2.4 million to charities for veterans affairs.
Rumsfeld declined to accept an advance for the publication of his memoir, and has said he is donating all proceeds from the work to veterans groups. His book, entitled Known and Unknown: A Memoir, was released on February 8, 2011.
In conjunction with the publication of Known and Unknown, Rumsfeld established "The Rumsfeld Papers", a website with documents "related to the endnotes" of the book and his service during the George W. Bush administration; during the months that followed the book's publication, the website was expanded to include over 4,000 documents from his archive. As of June 2011, the topics include his Congressional voting record, the Nixon administration, documents and memos of meetings while he was part of the Ford, Reagan, and George W. Bush administrations, private sector documents, and NATO documents, among others.
Rumsfeld was awarded the "Defender of the Constitution Award" at the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., on February 10, 2011.
After his retirement from government, Rumsfeld criticized former fellow Cabinet member Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State in his memoir, asserting that she was basically unfit for office. In 2011, she responded, saying that Rumsfeld "doesn't know what he's talking about. The reader may imagine what can be correct about the conflicted matter."
In February 2011, Rumsfeld endorsed the repeal of the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, saying that allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve "is an idea whose time has come".
In March 2011, Rumsfeld spoke out on the 2011 military intervention in Libya, where Rumsfeld told ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, that the Obama administration should  "recognize… the mission has to determine the coalition. The coalition ought not determine the mission." Rumsfeld also used the word "confusion" six times to describe the United Nations-backed military effort in Libya.
In October 2011, Rumsfeld conducted an interview with Al Jazeera's Washington, D.C. bureau chief Abderrahim Foukara. Foukara asked Rumsfeld whether, in hindsight, the Bush administration had sent enough troops into Iraq to secure the borders of the country, and whether that made the United States culpable in the death of innocent Iraqis. Foukara said people in the Pentagon told Rumsfeld the quantity of troops sent into Iraq was insufficient.
Rumsfeld said, "You keep making assertions which are fundamentally false. No one in the Pentagon said they were not enough," Foukara pressed Rumsfeld repeatedly. Rumsfeld then asked "Do you want to yell or do you want to have an interview?" Foukara then asked "Do you think the numbers that you went to Iraq with did absolve you from the responsibility of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis killed by the Coalition and those criminals that you talked about?" Rumsfeld called the question "pejorative", said Foukara was "not being respectful" (Foukara disagreed) and was "just talking over, and over, and over again".
Rumsfeld was the subject of the 2013 Errol Morris documentary The Unknown Known, the title a reference to his respons
Donald Rumsfeld