Audience
George W. Bush delivered his “War on Terror” speech in front of the US Congress after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Consequently, the main audience was formed by the members of the Congress. However, since the speech was also televised, the address had both a national and international audience. This is important, as Bush addresses both the American people and the country’s international allies in the speech. Sometimes he even directly addresses the enemies of the…
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Live audience
The video of the speech shows individuals that Bush specifically mentions in the address, including “Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Tempore” (l. 1), "Lisa Beamer" (l. 10), “Speaker Hastert, Minority Leader Gephardt, Majority Leader Daschle and Senator Lott” (ll. 34-35), the British PM Tony Blair (ll. 57-59), “Tom Ridge” (l. 215), “Governor George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani” (ll. 307-308), and members of the military (227-229).
Bush’s references to Tony Blair and Great Britain are particularly important. By mentioning Britain’s support re…
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The American people and victims of the 9/11 attack
The speaker wants the message of his speech to have a national impact and convince the American people to accept his vision on the war against terrorist organizations. As a consequence, he constantly makes references to them in a way that makes the audience appear reliable, caring, and trustworthy. Here are a few examples: “My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of union, and it is strong.” (ll. 19-20); “Americans are asking, ‘What is expected of us?’ I ask you to live your lives and hug your children. (...) I ask you to uphold the value…
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International allies
Because Bush seeks to gain international support for the war against terrorist groups, there are multiple references that target various other countries. Some of these references praise the support America has already received: “…the sounds of our national anthem playing at Buckingham Palace, on the streets of Paris and at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.” (ll. 41-43); “We will not forget South Korean children gathering to pray outside our embassy in S…
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Enemies
The speech targets terrorist networks and countries where they have branches or which support terrorism: “Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them.” (ll. 146-147)
He targets Afghanistan and the Taliban regime, which the speaker argues is responsible for aiding the group that attacked the US: “the United States of Ame…
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US Congress
Finally, you should note that an important category of the audience for the speaker is the US Congress. Bush’s main intention is to gain Congress’ approval for the military and security measures he wants to take against terrorism: “I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time.” (ll. 27-28); “And ladies and gentleme…
