SA 2: Letter to President Clinton

In this letter to President Clinton it is made clear who the audience is assumed to be. The use of urgency and worry towards the U.S. policy in Iraq is clearly taken towards the figure who has the power to change it. I particularly like the statement " As you have rightly declared, Mr. President, the security of the world in the first part of the 21st century will be determined largely by how we handle this threat." This sentence is a direct appeal to the audience, the president, by capitalizing on a former statement made by him. This capitalization is an effort to persuade the president that he must back up his words.

The overall tone of the letter also seems to be fitted for speaking to someone in power. The generosity and and almost plea like tone presented in letter also gives the sense that the audience is the only one with the power to do what they ask.

Another audience that this letter could appeal to with ease, and almost does already as a general audience, is the American people. The authors could construct another sense of urgency with the American people by simply changing around their word usage and adding a situation that could bring the audience into relation for them.

The letter could open up by describing the need to protect the future of our country and its people, and give the tone that Saddam Husein is a direct threat to the future of our lives and children after us. Also the tone of the letter, if written for the American people, would probably be written much less as a plea and more as an informative letter. The author would take the position as someone perhaps more knowledgeable on the subject than the average joe. Statements such as, "If you act now to end the threat of weapons of mass destruction against the U.S. or its allies, you will be acting in the most fundamental national security interests of the country", could be written to appeal more to the general public by saying something along the lines of, " This is the time we must act and change our policies, for if we stay the current course, we will endanger the future of our country and its people."