Chapter 9 Analyzing George W. Bush’s War Discourse
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Abstract
This chapter examines President George W. Bush’s war discourse. In contrast to Rupinder Mangat’s chapter, which focuses on the interaction between the military and the public, this chapter concentrates on the communication between the president and his audiences. 1 It describes the manner in which Bush communicated with American citizens, considering the context within which the communication was conducted, the listeners who were addressed, the speaker’s rhetorical skills, the constraints which determined the effectiveness of the communication, and the exigencies which defined its form and content. The objective is to identify the techniques employed by the president to market his foreign affairs policy to the American public and Congress and suggest conclusions which can be drawn on the basis of the analysis.