Feedback on my commentary please! It's on Obama's speech announcing bin Laden's death. Speech under first spoiler tag, commentary under second.
Obama's Speech
Barack Obama Announces Osama bin Laden’s death
May 2011
Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that 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.
It was nearly 10 years ago that 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; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.
And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.
On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbours a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.
We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda -- an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.
Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we've made great strides in that effort. We've disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defence. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.
Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.
And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.
Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.
Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.
For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda's leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda.
Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must -- and we will -- remain vigilant at home and abroad.
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.
Over the years, I've repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we've done. But it's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.
Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.
The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who's been gravely wounded.
So Americans understand the costs of war. 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 defence 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.
Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who've worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.
We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.
Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.
And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.
The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it's the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.
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.
Commentary
The text is a speech by US President Barrack Obama announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, leader of the terrorist organisation al Qaeda. It's ostensible function is referential; it is informing the American people -- and those of the wider world -- about bin Laden's demise as well as giving information about the 9/11 attacks and the impacts they had on the American community. However, it also serves a secondary function in promoting the Obama administration to the American people, making them more willing to vote for them in the next election. The text's register is formal and is reflected through the use of formal lexis such as 'billowing' (11), 'conducted' (5) and 'counterterrorism' (31) and the text's general syntactic complexity.
The text's lexis reflects its social purposes. Obama's use of proper nouns 'Osama bin Laden' (5), 'al Qaeda' (5), 'Flight 93' (11) and the 'United States' (4) immediately conveys to the reader the nature of the speech and sets the tone as a serious one. The noun phrase "9/11" (19) is used throughout the text and is an exophoric reference to the plane hijacking that occurred on September 11, 2001. Obama utilises inference to convey his message in a more concise and effective manner - his audience is familiar with what "9/11" refers to and the term has come to represent the event. Obama uses the active lexical verbs 'collapsing' (10), 'conducted', 'killed' (5) and 'saved' (12) to effectively convey the events that have happened, and the use of the active voice serves to make the events more personal to the audience, as well as placing syntactic front focus on the persons responsible. For example, the clause "that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden" (5) emphasises that it was the United States that killed Osama bin Laden and the use of the active voice subtly suggests that bin Laden's death was a result of a sustained, active effort on the part of the United States; they did not simply stumble upon him. Obama also is trying to stress the importance of unity amongst the American people, and this is achieved through the repeated use of lexeme 'unity' and near-synonyms such as 'indivisible' (22,24, 105,115) and the prevalent use of inclusive pronouns in the text 'we' (14,24,27,31, etc), 'our' (20,21,30,45,etc), which serves to make American listeners feel as if this is their achievement and helps reinforce Obama's point that together the American people are strong. This also helps fulfil the text's secondary function in making the Obama administration look more appealing to American voters - Americans who are not Democrats are encouraged to put their differences aside and support Obama, whom is portrayed is a very capable leader thanks to the killing of bin Laden. This is further exemplified by Obama's description of bin Laden as al Qaeda's 'leader and symbol' (57) and his killing a 'significant achievement' (59), making the American people feel that America, and thus by extension the current Obama administration, has made great strides forward in the war against terrorism.
Obama uses figurative language to paint a vivid picture in the audience's mind of the devastation caused by al Qaeda on 9/11. The metaphor 'that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history' uses the contrast between the denotations of lexemes 'bright' and 'darkened' to convey how devastating the 9/11 attacks were, highlighting the text's referential function. Similarly, the metaphor 'hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky' (9-10) exemplifies the destruction caused by the hijacked planes by making the audience visualise the planes as sharp knives that are destructive enough to cut even the sky. Obama describes the immediate aftermath of 9/11 in vivid detail through the use of short, active, descriptive sentences strung together in a paratactic style 'hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon' (9-11). This is used to help capture the chaos that surrounded 9/11; the use of discrete sentences strung together captures how quickly the events unfolded - one thing occurred after the other, with there being very little time to react. Obama also employs the rhetorical device of triplets frequently. The triplet 'a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children' (6) is used to highlight the indiscriminate nature of bin Laden's killings and how nobody was spared, even if he or she was a child. The use of near-synonyms 'citizens', 'friends' and 'allies' (28) in the triplet 'we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies' (28) that differ slightly in meaning reinforces America's resolve to protect anybody on their side. His use of triplets also serve a more general function in making the speech more engaging. Obama also employs euphemism and buzzwords that are characteristic of political discourse in his speech. In line 32, he euphemistically refers to how America 'removed' (32) the Taliban government. The verb 'remove' does not have negative connotations and the audience does not associate it with the bloodshed and horror characteristic of war; it is painted as a quick, clean operation akin to removing a stain from a shirt. The euphemistic 'firefight' (55) is also used to describe the killing of bin Laden rather than the more appropriate 'assassination'. Assassination carries very negative connotations and Obama does not want the audience to view this as a state sanctioned assassination; rather, he is painting it as a two-sided conflict where bin Laden fought back and where the only option the NAVY Seals had was to kill him. The jargonistic buzzword 'targeted operation' (52) is ambiguous and is also used to avoid explicitly stating that it was an assassination.
Syntactically, the speech's structure is predominantly complex and compound-complex, reflecting its formal register. Obama uses relative clauses to provide the audience with additional information such as 'that were unseen to the world' (14) and 'which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country' (27), helping to fulfil the text's referential function. However, short simple sentences such as 'No Americans were harmed' (54) are employed occasionally to break up the rhythm and make the speech sound more interesting, as well as to convey information concisely. In fact, Obama employs a paratactic style by stringing together discrete sentence fragments together in lines 14-16 'The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace'. These sentences fragments are noun phrases and refer to those who were affected most by 9/11 - the families of the victims. The lack of predicates in these sentence fragments places emphasis on these people and gives it a greater impact by forcing the audience to dwell over and think about the consequences 9/11 had on these people without explicitly stating it. The majority of sentences in the text are declarative, fitting in with it referential function and helping to facilitate the effective communication of information. The imperatives 'May God bless you' (117) and 'may God bless the United States of America' are part of the formulaic closing and is characteristic of the text's formal nature and its text type as a presidential speech. He utilises adverbials of time frequently to pre-modify his sentences, allowing him to paint a timeline of events in the reader's mind for the actions leading up to the eventual killing of Osama bin Laden and thus serving to make the speech more coherent by giving it a logical structure. The adverbial "On September 11, 2001" (19) is used to qualify when the 'American people came together' and when the American 'time of grief' was. The use of the adverbial "so shortly after taking office" (41) to describe Obama's direction to CIA director Leon Panetta to make killing or capturing bin Laden a top priority paints the Obama administration in a positive light; they seem competent and attuned to the interests of the American public because they were able to deal with bin Laden. The adverbial "For over two decades" (57) is used to premodify a sentence on bin Laden's role in al Qaeda and serves the text's referential function by informing younger readers as to how long Osama bin Laden has been a thorn in the side of the US. It also emphasises how great the achievement of killing bin Laden is, which fulfils the text's secondary function through making Obama more appealing as a President for the American people. Obama also employs antithesis in line 66-67 'Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murder of Muslims' in an effort to make Americans more sympathetic to Islam and more aware of the fact that Muslim extremists are not representative of the entire religion. The contrast between 'Muslim leader' and 'mass murderer of Muslims' turns Muslims from perpetrators to victims in the eyes of the American public, and helps the audience understand that Muslims too detest bin Laden.
The speech is a cohesive and coherent one. Anaphoric references are frequently used, such as 'we' in line 19 referring to the 'American people' (19). This reduces clutter in the speech through not repeating lengthy noun phrases such as 'American people' and thus makes the speech more cohesive. A topic comment structure is also employed in lines 22-24 "On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to or what ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family. We are also united in our resolve...". This makes the speech more coherent by grouping ideas thematically; Obama brings up the concept of unity, and then elaborates on it. Sentence initial coordinating conjunctions such as 'yet' (37), 'and' (41) serve to link ideas together and make the speech more cohesive and coherent by giving the speech a logical ordering.
Overall, the speech is a coherent and cohesive one that fulfils both its referential function in informing Americans and people of the world of the killing of bin Laden and its secondary function in promoting the Obama administration.