Topic
George W. Bush’s “War on Terror” speech is a political speech delivered shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Consequently, the main topic of the speech is the war against terrorism, which was declared by the President in the wake of these events.
In connection with this overall topic, the speaker explores other themes as well such as solidarity, violence and terrorism, and freedom and democ…
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Solidarity
The first part of the speech focuses on the theme of solidarity. Bush thanks both the American people and the international community for their compassionate reaction to the events: “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); “And on behalf of the American people, I thank the world for its outpouring of support.” (ll. 39-40)
Bush keeps returning to the topic of solidarity throughout the speech when he talks about the American pe…
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Violence and terrorism
The part of the speech answering the question “ ‘Who attacked our country?’ ” (l. 73) focuses on the topic of violence and terrorism. Bush explains to the audience who the terrorists are, their aims, and how they operate: “Al Qaeda is to terror what the Mafia is to crime. But its goal is not making money, its goal is remaking the world…” (ll. 79-80); “The terrorists' directive commands them to kill Christians and Jews, to kill all Americans…” (ll. 86-87)
This part of the speech is meant to identify t…
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The war against terrorism
The part of the speech answering the question “ ‘How will we fight and win this war?’ ” (l. 178) focuses on the theme of war. Here, the speaker describes the exact means the US will use to fight terrorism: “We will direct every resource at our command — every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war…” (ll. 179-182)
Furthermore, he lists measures to imp…
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Argumentation
In general, George W. Bush uses direct argumentation in his speech. This means that the speaker is explicit and straightforward about his arguments.
For example, on several occasions, he states his views directly: “The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars…” (ll. 82-83); “This is not, however, just America's fight. And what is at stake is not just America's freedom. This is the world's fight.” (ll. 232-234)
A marker of direct argumentation is the use of rhetorical questions followed by a straightforward answer: “Americans are asking, ‘Who attacked …
