Analyzing Rhetorical Devices in George W. Bush Speech - Free Paper Sample

Introduction

George W. Bush presented the speech under analysis in 2003 as an announcement of the start of the war in Iraq by the United States of America. The audience is United States of America citizens and the world. The speech was presented by the president when the United States had differences with Iraq Saddam Hussein. The allegations were that Saddam Hussein was working on a program of weapons of mass destruction. George W. Bush was convinced that nuclear weapons were the main reason why the US was to engage in the Iraq war. Scholars have argued that the Bush administration was wrong about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction capabilities. Other scholars have suggested that the US's decision to start the war with Saddam had little to do with fear of weapons of mass destruction. His speech to declare war with Iraq, Bush made use of language techniques to convince the public of the importance of the war in Iraq. The report is concerned with identifying and explaining the rhetorical devices used by George W. Bush in the speech and their implications.

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Logos as a Rhetorical Device

The logos of a speech are the items that create logic to the audience. It is responsible for making the points of the speech appear commanding and straightforward, making the audience have no other alternative other than the alternative presented to them. Bush explained the main reason for the US embarking on the mission to help Iraq's people get freedom. He has provided several reasons why the attacks by the American troops were worth executing. He continues and explains that the main reason why the war is essential as it would help in curbing the ability of Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. 35 countries supported the decision to attack Saddam Hussein (C-SPAN, 2013). By stating the number of countries in support of the mission, the president's speech implies that the decision was worth taking as many countries had a similar opinion as to the USA. In this way, the audience was made to believe that the US's action was excellent and was not against the will and wish of other countries in the world. The logic created a sense of unity and one accord in the attack of Iraq to give people freedom.

On the other hand, President Bush has claimed that the decision was made after intensive intelligence embarking that revealed the reality in Iraq. The interpretation of the audience would mean that the president and his authority had followed the right procedure in getting the truth about Saddam Hussein, the decision they arrived at was worth as it was based on the facts and findings of the intelligence conducted on the issue of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction program. Another way the speech has made use of logos is by the president assuring the world that the United States and the alliances were to ensure that civilians are protected from harm. He continued and explained that the US respects Iraq citizens and their religious practice. "We have no ambition in Iraq, except to remove a threat, and restore control of Iraq to its own people," President George W. Bush said in his 2003 Iraq war speech (C-SPAN, 2013). All these statements, as evident from the declaration, indicates that the decision to declare war on Iraq was not an overnight decision but a well-reasoned approach.

Ethos as a Rhetorical Device

Ethos covers the speaker's responsibility to include concepts of a strong sense of integrity (Lucas, 2009). In the speech, the president argues that the primary concern of declaring the war was for the good of the Iraq people. Saddam Hussein was a threat to the freedom of people of Iraq (C-SPAN, 2013). Bush claimed that the motivation of the American decision was to restore freedom to people, and by doing so, the US was doing a good deed to the people of Iraq. In his speech, Bush acknowledges that the American forces are the ones to ensure people of Iraq do not suffer during the war, implying that he respects and honors people, which a good thing to consider. The speech has not made use of abusive language, indicating respect for people, and he is aimed at building things in the most ethical manner (Lucas, 2009). He also assured the American citizens that he respects and honor them. Moreover, he argued that the United States forces that were to execute the mission were to come home immediately. This implies that there was no other agenda than he had against the people of Iraq or had any other form of interest in Iraq, as having different interests would be unethical.

Pathos as a Rhetorical Device

Pathos is another rhetorical strategy that has been utilized by the speaker in his speech. In this case, the approach which was adopted by the speaker to address the topic had a way of ensuring that the audience was able to open up as a result of their emotions, which makes them vulnerable (Lucas, 2009). As the president, President Bush's statement and request were given a higher consideration, given that there were leading to Iraq being invaded. The fact that he was persuading the United Nations and the world to pursue the war created a platform for many individuals to react on the issue (C-SPAN, 2013). The majority of the people began to see the reality of what President Bush was insisting on, and this led them to be confused.

Given that political orders were being implemented, most people felt confused and anxious, leading them to express their fear of threats. Hence, some tried to give their feedback concerning the president's message, but it had no significant impact since the political power of the president was supported by propaganda. This showed that the presidential speech effectively triggered the audience to react to the issue of concern since they would analyze the reality of what would take place. As a result, it was clear that the president's choice of words manipulated the audience's emotions to the extent that they desired to present their concerns on the same topic.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the three rhetorical devices are found in the speech and are well articulated. The main aim of the statement was to persuade the American citizens and the public about why the US was valid to declare war in Iraq. The logos in the speech convinces the audience that the way the US intelligence analyzed Iraq's problem was right. The statement has concepts of ethical considerations, which are vital things that show that the speaker cares for the people and not only the US citizens but citizens of other countries such as Iraq. The emotions created by the speech are compelling to the public and made them feel the importance of the US declaring war in Iraq.

References

C-SPAN. (2013). President Bush Announces Start of Iraq War [Video]. Retrieved 7 August 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BwxI_l84dc.

Lucas, S. E. (2015). The Art of Public Speaking 12th Edition. Boston. Mc. Graw Hill.Brandenburg, E. (1949). The preparation of Franklin D. Roosevelt's speeches. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 35(2), 214-221.