President Obama on the Death of Osama Bin Laden

President Obama on The Death of Osama Bin Laden http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead

The president started with a tragic introduction reminiscing the unforgettable event of Sep 11, describing it as “ a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history, the images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory, hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky, the twin towers collapsing to the ground, black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon..” I believe that it was an electric introduction that touches the heart of people inside and outside the U.S.A. He appeared strong, blunt and direct. He stayed consistent with his message of hope and love to his community and country. He engaged the people of all race, religions and ethnicities and unified them as one American family. The president reaffirmed that the U.S is not and never will be at war with Islam, and Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims. In this section of his performance, Obama employed complex rhetorical and linguistic strategies, which allow the speaker to introduce and deliver the message in favorable context. Analyzing rhetoric, Hart says “ human history has been written by great persons authoring great orations for social betterment. Often, these great statements have seemed more poetic than pragmatic, as satisfying to the heart as to the head”4. Obama favored the third person plural pronouns we, us and our(s) in the rest of the speech, the pronouns played a significant role in creating a sense o unity of the speaker with the audience. We, us, and our(s), are employed many times respectively and are, probably, the most often used words of the speech. The speaker does not distance himself from the American people; instead, everything the president proclaims further seems to be issued by us- the people of America. According to Capone, “ a political speech is in itself an interpretation of the audience’s feeling and needs” that allow “the audience to build its own intentionality while a politician reflexes them” (2969). Obama in this case, was a member of not only the American society but also the society to which he speaks. His audience has become international when he stated, “ Al-Qaida has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries including U.S as well”. I think that this part of his speech in one hand was very strong, yet friendly towards Muslim countries that believe in peace and dignity. However, in the other hand, it raises uncertainties that continue to trouble Muslims around the world – not to mention numerous westerners. How can Bin Laden have avoided detection in a place so close to Islamabad for more than five years? Why was there no attempt to arrest him? How are we to explain the absence of photographs, the disposal of his corpse into the sea (in pointed disregard for the Muslim rite his executioners publically claimed to respect? Anyways, president Obama who has in the past been sharply criticized for his apparent lack of strength and determination on national issues as well as on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has scored a powerful symbolic success that will have a strong impact on public opinion. Prinz, Joachim. “I speak to you as an American Jew”, Web. 4 Apr 2011. Capone, Alessandro. “Barack Obama’s South Carolina Speech” Journal of Pragmatics. 42 (2010): 2964-2977. Web. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead