On Monday, May 2nd, 2011, shortly after 1 am local time in Abbottabad, Pakistan, Al Qaeda leader and founder Osama bin Laden was killed by US Naval Special Warfare Development Group (also known as SEAL Team 6). The attack, codenamed “Operation Neptune Spear,” was coordinated by the CIA’s Special Activities Division and had an immediate international impact shortly after news of it promulgated. An overwhelming sense of patriotism swept over America, and closure arrived for those who had lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. The UN, NATO, EU, and numerous governments worldwide all held positive reception toward the event. Meanwhile, Al Qaeda pledged revenge against the US, and enemies of the US, such as Fidel Castro and head of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh, condemned the attack. Tensions rose in US relations with Pakistan since the SEALs was there without Pakistani authorization, and controversy arose over the fact that Osama was unarmed when he was killed. Also controversial was the lack of photographic or DNA evidence released to confirm Osama’s death, and many Pakistanis vehemently denied that the US had actually killed Osama.
At the center of all this, perhaps more so than ever, the man that everyone had questions for shortly after news of Osama’s death spread was Barack Obama. Obama knew that plenty of people would have questions for him after hearing of Osama’s death, and so he prepared a thoughtful speech to deliver on live TV for the American people, and to a lesser extent the rest of the world. He delivered this speech on Sunday, May 1st at 11:35 pm, about seven and a half hours after Osama died, in the East Room of the White House. His speech made effective use of ethos, pathos, and logos and helped him to make greater appeal to the American people and to the international community. Of course, Obama knew the importance of kairos very well upon delivering his speech, as he only waited a relatively short amount of time after Osama’s death before speaking about the event. This helped him to remain relevant and show shrewd acknowledgement of the importance of timing and opportunity in delivering a speech so that it would have maximum effect.
Obama starts off his speech with a very formal introduction that quickly helps to establish his ethos: “Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world, the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.” While Obama had plenty of ethos to begin with since he was and still is President of the United States, even those of high status must take good care to present themselves in a way that does not tarnish their image, and Obama quick and concise introduction helps him to ensure such a thing.
Obama’s diction that includes the words “murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children” shows that he is immediately ready to appeal to the audience through pathos. These words are meant to evoke a sense of sadness in listeners as they reflect upon the true scope and nature of what Osama caused while he was alive. He then goes on to gives descriptive and emotionally deep flashbacks of the events of 9-11 and even highlights the sadder implications of the attacks. He also makes good use of facts and figures here, helping to connect to the audience with logos, while simultaneously attempting to elicit emotions through pathos, perhaps a very tricky thing to do for inexperienced rhetors.
Obama next helps to establish a deeper connection with the American people by referring to himself and other Americans with the word “we” and describing in vivid detail how united we all were following 9-11. Obama follows this with a relatively lengthy description of the path that the US government took that eventually led to their success in killing Osama. While this part of the speech can be considered rather boring and dull, it does help him establish appeal through undeniable use of logos.
After some brief remarks on the impact of Osama’s death and how it by no means meant that the US’s war on terror was over, Obama then affirms his political correctness by pointing out the US’s innocuousness toward Muslims: “As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not — and never will be — at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.” He appeals to the international Muslim community here through logos by pointing out that Osama also was responsible for countless Muslim deaths, and as such, Muslims should feel a sense of relief from news of his death.
Obama then attempts to appeal to Pakistan through pathos by noting their mutual cooperation in the hunt for Osama and also pointing out that “Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.” He closes these remarks on Pakistan by describing his call to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and how it supposedly helped continue cordial relations between the US and Pakistan. All this also shows logos toward the American audience by showing that Obama thinks also of how others in the world, particularly those directly involved and/or impacted, might respond to the effects of his actions.
Obama next makes more attempts at connection through pathos with diction such as “senseless slaughter of our citizens” and “service, struggle, and sacrifice.” The alliteration in the latter example also shows his proficient knowledge and handling of the English language, further aiding his ethos. His pathos then takes the form of descriptions of the sadness he feels whenever he must interact with the family member of a 9-11 victim or a wounded soldier returning from active duty overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan.
After this, Obama helps reestablish a sense of unity among the American people with another set of “we” statements: “Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done.” He then tries to connect through pathos to service members and all those who helped to make the mission success possible by giving them praise and reminding Americans to acknowledge their hard work and sacrifice.
Obama wraps up his speech with more pathos toward those deeply affected by 9-11 by remind them that the American people will always be standing right by their side and that we are all still one people here in the US. He ends on a positive note with a hopeful message about how much we can still achieve. His final words show attempt to connect to the deeply religious and/or patriotic: “Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.”
With much of the world’s attention suddenly shifted to the US and its role in the war on terror back on that fateful day in 2011, Obama had to carefully navigate through the dark waters of potentially devastating blunders when giving his speech that night. Fortunately, Obama is a skilled rhetor who knew what he was doing. The timeliness of his speech already showed his acumen in kairos and the particulars and implications of his speech showed his profound experience in making connections with his audience through ethos, pathos, and logos. While Osama’s death may now seem like a relatively distant memory that did not really have that much of a significant impact upon the world, Obama’s subsequent speech showed his great skill as a very capable rhetor and may live on to be as famous as speeches such as the Gettysburg Address or John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech. Only time will tell how this well-planned and executed speech will be remembered, or forgotten, by this world.
