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Running Head: ISIS SPEECH

ISIS Speech
Jesus M. Arriets
RWS 1301
Sep 27, 2014






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Running Head: ISIS SPEECH
In these past months America has become aware of a terrorist organization known as ISIS
or Islamic Stare of Iraq and Syria. This organization has been terrorizing the innocent locals of
Iraq and Syria thinking that they are of greater power. They went as far as beheading two
American journalists, Steven Sotloff and James Foley. Since then President Obama has ordered
for military personnel to conduct numerous air strikes on Iraq and Syria to aid in the fight against
ISIS. In This Video President Obama addresses the nation about what is going on with ISIS and
what he plans to do about it. He analyzes what he has done and is yet to be done and how each
decision is and will be affecting the people of Iraq and Syria. This paper will point out the
rhetorical strategies that President Obama uses in his address to the nation.
The audience of this address is the people of America; men and women who are
concerned about the issue, along with those in the armed forces. Another targeted audience could
be the leaders of ISIS. President Obama could have used this video to serve as a warning to the
terrorist organization. He declares his audience in the beginning of the video by stating My
fellow Americans(Obama). Ideas, plans and a lot of reassurance take place in this video so
there is plenty to question and discuss about President Obamas speech, with that in mind the
time spent on it would roughly be about 30-35 minutes. The purpose of the information
presented is to inform the people of America about ISIS and what they stand for. In addition it
also stands to reassure the audience that actions will be taken in efforts to eliminate the enemy.
Now we come to Presidents Obamas credibility. President Obama is credible in his
speech for stating that it is his job as president is to target, eliminate, and stop this threat from
advancing any further. He states, As commander and chief it is my priority to secure the safety
of the American people.(Obama) He calls out that ISIS is an unorganized group of men who
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Running Head: ISIS SPEECH
claim that they are a state. For in fact they are not. He also brings up the execution of the two
American journalists who I mentioned earlier. Many Americans are concerned about the issue
and Obama takes credibility of stating that things will be okay by saying, tonight I want you to
know that the United States of American is meeting them (ISIS) with strength and
resolve.(Obama).He also claims that he ordered to take military action against ISIS. This shows
that he is taking full responsibility for the orders he has issued therefore leaving him credible.
Obama also draws away from the spotlight by saying that this is not Americas fight
alone, American power can make an incisive difference but we cannot do for Iraqis what they
must do for themselves (Obama) President Obama has not experienced firsthand what the
people of Iraq are going through , so by stating this sentence he leaves himself credible.
Throughout the video President Obama discusses plans of action that he is going to take in
attempts to stop ISIS, which consists of airstrikes and aid for the people of Iraq. He assures this
by saying I will not hesitate to take action in Iraq, as well as Syria. This is a core principle of
my Presidency.(Obama). The way President Obama takes responsibility for the actions he plans
to take is very effective because he addresses what he plans to do and backs it up with what the
outcomes might be and why he is doing it.
President Obama is very effective in using pathos in his speech. First off there is no
music playing so it creates a mood of suspense. You can hear the seriousness and assertiveness
in President Obamas voice as he discusses the issue. He uses words such as barbaric and
godless to describe ISIS. In the beginning of the speech President Obama discusses what ISIS
has done but later on talks about what he will do to stop them. This creates a feeling of
reassurance and positivity. During the speech president Obama brings up the executions of two
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Running Head: ISIS SPEECH
American journalists. This flips everything around for just a moment. It takes on a mood of anger
and vengeance. The look on President Obamas face shows how furious and disgusted he is by
the actions of ISIS. Overall the speech was very assertive. Now there was one thing Obama said
that created s feeling of safety. In my perspective it served as a threat to ISIS. Obama stated, If
you threaten America you will find no safe haven.(Obama) That sentence itself stood out in the
speech because of how assertive it was, the tone in President Obamas voice shows that it was
not intended for jokes.
As far as logos goes President Obama gives information on how many airstrikes that have
been ordered up to that point. Other than that the logos isnt very strong .Aside from engaging
the number of attempts and the number of people who have been hurt there really isnt much to
back up. He doesnt go into detail about what the chances of his plans are being successful.
Stating these statistics would effectively back up his plans therefore making his proposal a tad bit
more credible. Aside from that the only strong logos he shows is the number of successful
airstrikes he has ordered. On that note his logos isnt very effective.
This video impacts the topic at hand in various ways by clarifying exactly what the
situation is. In conclusion the video identifies the problems that are going on that involve ISIS
and how President Obama plans to resolve them, The video backs up my topic because it
explains why he is ordering the airstrikes in the first place. It also shows the people of America
that ISIS is not a joke and that they are a serious terrorist group. Finally President Obama
reassures the people of America that everything will be okay.

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Running Head: ISIS SPEECH
Reference
The New York Times. 2014,September 10. Obama ISIS Speech [FULL] Today on 9/10/2014:
'Ultimately Destroy' Militants | The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spIWGoNZnaU