Bush’s Letter to Hussein

President George Bush’s letter to President Saddam Hussein is a convincing segment intended to persuade Hussein to remove his forces from Kuwait before conflict ensues. Some critical readers believe that Bush does not provide a rational argument, but this paper is taking the standpoint that Bush not only is rational, but cogent. President George Bush is able to effectively convey his forceful message to President Saddam Hussein, expressing that Iraq must leave Kuwait through the use of establishing credibility, strength, repetition, and persuasive appeals by explaining that the world will not tolerate war and violence any longer.

Bush’s letter was sent to Iraq with the purpose of reaching his primary audience of President Saddam Hussein. Hussein has a set of beliefs that differ from the rest of the world and as a result, he feels that he has the power to do what he wants. This can be assumed based on the fact that Hussein felt compelled to enter Kuwait, an ally of the United States and its coalition partners, in the first place. This act shows his fearlessness. This letter was meant for Hussein, as it was sent to him and his people directly, but there are a couple secondary audiences that can be deduced from the text. The people of the United States, who will ultimately judge President George Bush for this letter, were taken into account with statements such as, “The American people would demand the strongest possible response.” The rest of the world was not ignored though, as there was a special emphasis on pointing out the twelve Security Council Resolutions, twenty-eight countries providing military units, and the one hundred plus governments complying with the letter’s sanctions. Bush’s letter had a wide range of audiences from world’s governments, to the people of the United States, to Saddam directly; each with their own unique message.

With such a vast array of audiences to reach, this letter also has a vast array of messages to accomplish. When it comes to President Saddam Hussein, the purpose is clear. The letter has an initial objective to induce him to leave Kuwait, by offering to let Iraq back into the international community and giving them a six day grace period to leave. More importantly, this letter informs Hussein of the dire consequences if he continues his invasion, including a full on war that would devastate Iraq’s government and military for years to come. Bush’s underlying message to the world was different.

To them, it is a call-to-arms to be ready for war, in the likely chance that Hussein refused to leave Kuwait. The letter referred to the twenty-eight countries that will provide military support in the efforts against Iraq, with a “Start Preparing” sort of tone. Of course, the President of the United States could not expect to send this letter without considering the people of the United States. The letter mentions how strong America’s will is and how the people will demand a strong response, which points at trying to get the significance of this situation into the minds of the American people so that they are ready and informed. With so many purposes and people to reach in this letter it makes sense that it came from the President of the United States, a position of such world standing, where every word wrote will be analyzed by every possible source.

Continuing this paper’s analysis of Bush’s letter, he rapidly attempts to enlighten the citizens of Iraq with certain appeals that they are, in fact, alone in this argument and will remain that way if continuing on to war. While using small statistic numbers, trying to persuade the President of Iraq how they stand alone, Bush states how many people are on the United States side. These include; Security Council Resolutions, the countries providing militaries, and all the governments that are in agreement with them, concluding that it is Iraq at odds with the world. This having evidence, is a scare tactic as it shows Hussein that they are mostly unaided and also, a show of adverse consequences pushing Iraq to believe that they would undoubtedly lose the fight. Even though the message comes across to some extent threatening to the people of Iraq, Bush appeases the feeling by stating that his intention was only to inform them seeing as how the United States has no quarrel with Iraq.

In conclusion, President George Bush’s letter shows how united the world is against Iraq’s aggression. Twenty-eight countries would give military aid and one hundred governments would agree with the United States position. Iraq has no allies in their takeover of Kuwait. Bush’s threats of military action challenge Saddam Hussein’s arrogance and sense of infallibility. Warnings of the destruction of Iraq’s military and loss of life would be on the hands of Hussein himself. The United States would not be responsible for Iraq’s losses. Again, the primary audience for this letter is Hussein himself, because in a dictatorship such as Iraq, the people themselves are deprived of such information. Brute force keeps everyone in line with government directives. Moreover, by supplying a drop dead date of 6 days for complying with the threat of military intervention, this allows the possibility of Iraq joining the international community. This logical and persuasive letter targeted to an irrational narcissistic tyrant demonstrates the strength that the United States has to not condone Hussein’s stratagem any longer.