Obama Addresses the ISIL Crisis

On Wednesday September 10th, President Barack Obama announced his plans for reacting to the terrorist group ISIL. He introduced a four-step plan to strike down ISIL and to keep the security of America in tact. As always, he approached the stand with poise and spoke in a clear and crisp tone. To begin, he used examples of our accomplishments with eliminating other terrorists, for example, Osama Bin Laden. He then addressed that this plan will not resemble the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan and the troops that were there have decreased drastically. Similar to 9/11, ISIL is a small terrorist group, but he relates back to this life-changing event to remind the American people that only a few terrorists can do a lot of damage.

Later, Obama describes the awful actions that ISIL has taken, and he stresses that they are like no other terrorist group we have seen before. They have killed innocent children and there have been multiple events of genocide against Christians and other religions. ISIL has taken advantage of sectarian strife and civil war in order to get territory on both side of the Iraq-Syrian border, so they are slowly expanding. Obama says that even though there have not been any legitimate attacks on America from ISIL, they have still threatened our country and we need to meet them “with strength and resolve”. His plan is to operate air strikes exactly where ISIL is located or detected and he hopes to slowly degrade and destroy ISIL.

In order to tame impatient citizens, he emphasizes that this operation will take time, and we need all the time we can get. The first part he introduces is to operate air strike and to work with the Iraq government to pinpoint the hideouts and meeting places of ISIL. Part two is to increase the support for on-ground service fighters, and to send in 475 more service members. After introducing this part of the plan, Obama is sure to tell the American people that this fighting will not resemble the bad wars that we have just recently pulled out of. The third part is to cut off ISIL’s funding and to learn more about their strategies and their methods. Lastly, he is planning on providing humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who need our help. He does a great job of explaining how brutal ISIL really is, and he continuously says the phrase “men, women and children” because he knows that Americans and people in general feel very strongly about the killing of women and children.

He then says that we will be joined by allies and to rap it all up, he gets into a pro-America rant, to amp up the citizens and get the people excited about protecting their country. I’ve always thought that Obama is a wonderful speaker, and he never fails to speak in a clear and strong voice. The structure of this speech was well laid out and he was able to explain what ISIL was while also filling the Americans with hope and excitement for pinpointing this terrorist group and eliminating them.

On Wednesday, September 10th, President Obama delivered a speech addressing his four-part plan for what the United States of America will do to destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL or commonly referred to ISIS.  President Obama publicly informed our nation that we are going to “degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.”  President Obama’s four-part strategy to take down ISIL includes airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, increased support to forces fighting on the ground, draw on substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks, and provide humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians.

President Obama delivered his speech with authority and confidence. Maintaining a powerful tone though out out the speech and using precise hand gestures, his strong body language helped show nationalism and pride in our country. President Obama made it clear that no matter who threatens our nation,  “the United States will meet this threat with strength and resolve.” Even though there are risks, Present Obama is sure that we will not regret his decision to go through with this plan. He is also confident that we will fight back with all of our power.

The most effective part of President Obama’s speech was when he gave the public his outline of the four-part strategy he designed to destroy the ISIL. Keeping the nation up to date with everything that he decides to do, gives America a sense of patriotism and is also comforting knowing that we are taking a big risk. Going through each step, the President spent a great deal of time coming up with the best way to attack the situation. Collaborating with many intelligent people, President Obama made sure that this plan was going to be the best it possibly could. 

Explaining his plan in detail also helped the public have confidence in him and his message. 

The first media truth stood out for me, “the media are essential components of our lives” because without media, President Obama would not have the ability to communicate with the public. The media also helped how the speech was delivered because we were able to see how the president used body language to help enforce his plan. At the end of his message, the public was able to use social media to communicate with one another about their opinions as well as phone in on television and give their thoughts. After the speech was presented, media also replayed the speech multiple times and allowed the public to view it on television or revisit parts of the message online. 

President Obama addresses ISIL

Last night around nine, President Obama addressed the nation on ISIL and how the United States would further react to their threats. His message was clear, "We will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL".

Many Americans feel threatened, but also outraged, with the attacks ISIL has made over the past months. When delivering his message, Obama spoke for the nation. He himself seemed to feel the anger that the average citizen is feeling. When he presented his speech, Obama showed his anger by at times almost seeming to put down ISIL. At one point, he explained how they calls themselves "The Islamic State". At that given moment, Obama illustrated how ISIL is not recognized by any government as a state or religion based on their brutality towards innocent civilians. He finished this argument by stating, "ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple". Obama also made sure to remind the nation that they have successful killed Osama Bin Laden and destroyed most of Al Qaeda, so taking down ISIL may be difficult but can definitely happen.

President Obama's body language, facial expressions, and hand gestures all tell a lot with how he (or anyone in general) is feeling. His speech is strong, calm, and professional. His posture is strong, shoulders back, head held high. His face seems relaxed yet tense at times, and he is constantly moving his hands to further emphasize  key points. Perhaps the strongest and most effective line of Obama's speech was when he stated, "If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven". The President then paused, allowing the message to sink in. America will not back down. We will stick together and continue to help the Iraqis, and all else who are threatened, to destroy ISIL once and for all.

Of the seven truths, Media Truth One stands out most in this circumstance. Media Truth One explains how the media are essential components of our lives. If it were not for media, none of us would understand the truth of what ISIL is doing. No one would have ever seen the beheading of American Journalists, Steven Sotloff and James Foley. The ability to read, or watch what is happening creates a stronger uprising amongst the population. Media allows us the opportunity to learn what we want to know and even at times informs us on news we never want to see. However, either way, media are essential and will continue to be one of the most important components of our lives.

Last night, President Obama gave a statement addressing how America is going to respond to the issue of the terrorist group ISIL. He spoke with great resolution on what he considers ISIL to be, “a terrorist organization, pure and simple.” He stressed that although ISIL calls itself the “Islamic State,” it neither works under the principles of Islam, nor is it a state. The president was very clear in his message that he has every intention of seeing the complete eradication of ISIL. In order to assure Americans of this, he laid out his plan: conduct “airstrikes against these terrorists,” increase support for those who are actually fighting ISIL “on the ground,” work “to prevent [future] ISIL attacks,” and provide assistance to “innocent civilians who have been displaced by” ISIL. The president numbered each of these statements one through four, respectively, asserting that this plan has legitimate steps as part of a definite process. In other words, he emphasized the fact that he has a solid plan, and Americans need not be worried.

The president’s determination was overwhelmingly evident as he stated that the goal of his aforementioned plan is that “we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL.” In fact, he stated this twice, once in the beginning of his statement to set its tone and create an understanding of its purpose and a second time as a reminder of the purpose and a reinforcement of his conviction.  His repetition of this assertion caused it to be the truly most effective part of his statement. Those few words summed up the majority, if not all, of his message that ISIL is unsavory and must be treated as such, and it is worthless and must be eliminated. With verbs as bold as “degrade” and “destroy,” the president emphasized just how disgusted and fed-up he is with the terrorist organization, all the while giving Americans a sense that they are united in and a part of this effort through words such as “we” and “our.” In effect, the president both made clear his intention and allowed his audience to join him in his resolve.

Undeniable in the statement is evidence of Media Truth Four. Nothing is new; everything that happened in the past will happen again. The president even alludes to past events involving terrorist organizations, such as dealing with al Qaeda and eventually taking out most of its leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He addresses the unfortunate fact that evil has and always will exist, that it cannot be totally “[erased]…from the world.” ISIL, specifically, is made out to be just another terrorist organization which, as is the precedent, America will do its best to stop.

President Obama speaks to the American Public

President Obama addressed the American public on September 10, on the country’s next step against ISIL.

The President spoke clearly and concisely, as he explained that his main priority was keeping the citizens of our country safe. Rarely breaking eye contact with the camera, President Obama made no mistake with his message: The American government will not stand for any acts of terrorism. He went on to describe recent efforts against the terrorist groups, including airstrikes in the area. President Obama did say that the new efforts to stop the threat were made in conjunction with Iraqi forces.

The most effective quote of the night was “If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven”. President Obama was able to make a believable and powerful statement, without sounding threatening. He was able to thoroughly explain the plans to stop ISIL, and reassure the country that the American soldiers would be working solely as support, not in any combat. He was able to lift the American spirit while giving vital information to the public.

President Obama did take time to remind the country of how far we’ve come since September 11^th, thirteen years ago. Earlier in speech, he referenced the countries track record when facing terrorist operations. Proving the media truth that no event is new, it’s all happened before.

President Obama's Address on ISIS

President Obama gave a national address on the evening of September 10, 2014 addressing the actions and his strategy to confront the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The President announced that the United States and its allies will lead a broad coalition in order to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. A statement was made that 450 troops will be sent into Iraq but, Obama made it very clear that this will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.

The address was delivered with determination and confidence and was to be received with an understanding reassuring tone that President Obama is taking action. President Obama was able to maintain a serious tone throughout the entire address, stressing the most important issues, such as the safety of the country the safety of the troops. When talking about the risky issues that could occur he would use reassuring language, pauses in his speech, and necessary hand gestures, to capture to audiences attention and then say statements such as; “This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”

In my opinion, the most effective part of the address was when he outlined the steps of his plan. It gave the “average” American a sense of reassurance that we are not declaring war, but that there is a devised plan that is taking place over time. The President also, mentions how this movement is about leadership and that this is “American Leadership at it’s best”. Incorporating how this is the 13th anniversary for 9/11 and how we are still a nation who stands for freedom made this not just any other speech, but one that President Obama and Americans feel more passionate about.  

The media truth that stood out to be most effective to me was Truth 1: The media are essential components of our lives. The President used media to effectively deliver his message over a broadcast on television, but also live streamed on the internet as well as discussions to follow up. People were able to follow along with information via Twitter or CNN on the phones and stay plugged into everything that was being said even without watching the live address. The forms of media that the President used ensured that a large audience would be able to partake in viewing the address, making it most effective. 

Obama on ISIL

   Obama's message was clear from the beginning of his speech. He plans to "degrade, and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL." Obama has adopted a no-nonsense approach to the handling of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and has made this evident through his speech.
   The message was delivered with a confident and comforting tone. Regarding the treatment of ISIL, President Obama attempts to comfort the American population by saying, "I know many Americans are concerned about these threats. Tonight, I want you to know that the United States of America is meeting them with strength and resolve." He later goes on to boast that "we have conducted more than 150 successful airstrikes in Iraq" to ensure the American people that the atrocities conducted by ISIL are not going unpunished.
   Obama's tone and body language portray an unwavering confidence in his plan and in the military's ability to conduct it. Naturally, this may be an act because if the President does not believe in his own plan, who will?
   After the President laid out his plan for ISIL, he attempted to rally Americans around all of our recent accomplishments. He repeatedly used the phrase "it is America" followed by something we have done to better the world. This attempt to unite us all as Americans was probably the most effective part of the speech. Admittedly, many people will see this as a blatant attempt to use previous and unrelated success's to justify another war, but on the other hand it reminds us of all the good we've done throughout the world. We as Americans enjoy being told that we are doing good around the world, thus making this the most effective part of the speech.
   It's eerie how we as a nation have been in this situation before. We have had several presidents try to sell us a war, almost consistently in the middle east with promises that it will be quick, painless, with little American loss of life. I regret to admit that this represents the fourth Media Truth; Nothing's new; everything that happened in the past will happen again. Very few of us thought history would repeat itself this quickly.