Intention

Tony Blair’s speech on terror follows the 2005 London bombings, which were acts of 'home-grown' terrorists (terrorists living in the UK) influenced by Al-Qaeda’s propaganda. The speech focuses on terrorism, exploring religious fanaticism and the demands and propaganda of terrorist groups.

Tony Blair’s overall message is that terrorists cannot be reasoned with, but fought and defeated, both militarily and through attacking terrorist ideology: “This is the battle that must be won, a battle not just about the terrorist methods but their views. Not just their barbaric acts, but their barbaric ideas.” (ll. …

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Further measures against terrorism

The speaker's general intention with the speech is to convince the audience to accept taking further measures against terrorism (both military and diplomatic). To achieve his ends, the speaker follows specific points.

First, he wants to convince the audience that terrorists are a serious threat. To this purpose, he enumerates some of their demands, making them sound absurd and unjust:

They demand the elimination of Israel; the withdrawal of all Westerners from Muslim countries, irrespective of the wishes of people and government; the establishment of effectively Taleban states and Sharia law in the Arab world en route to one caliphate of all Muslim nations. (ll. 32-36)

Second, the speaker wants to convince the audience that there is no way to reason with terrorists because they are fanatics: “Those who kill in its name believe genuinely that in doing it, they do God's work; they go to paradise.” (ll. 49-50); “Their cause is not founded on an injustice. It is founded…

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Tony Blair's leadership

Another of Blair’s key intentions is to present himself as a powerful leader who will be able to tackle terrorism effectively, both at home and abroad. He does this through subtle references to the religious conflict in Northern Ireland, which he helped to …