Unpacking Presidential Decisions to Use Force
Rhetorical Definition of the Enemy in William J. Clinton’s Justifications of Military Engagements
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51480/1899-5101.17.4(38).715Keywords:
enemy definition, use of force, William J. Clinton, US military engagement, presidential rhetoricAbstract
This article investigates the rhetoric of the enemy in former President William J. Clinton’s justifications for the use of force. It examines the links between two themes from the perspective of David Zarefsky’s persuasive definitions. The former President’s responses to international conflicts demonstrate that the enemy drives presidential military decisions. Clinton’s rhetoric shows that the descriptions of the enemy differ between presidential announcements of airstrikes and presidential statements of commitment of USA ground troops to the fight overseas. Content analysis of Clinton’s speeches regarding the use of force in Somalia, Haiti, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, and Kosovo demonstrates these claims and indicates the role of language in the former President’s effort to lead the American public on the use of force in post-Cold War foreign policy.
References
Bacevich, A. J. (2000). The Use of Force in the Clinton Era: Continuity or Discontinuity? Chicago Journal of International Law, 1(2), 375–379.
Brinkley, D. (1997). Democratic Enlargement: The Clinton Doctrine. Foreign Policy, 106, 111–127.
Butler, J. R. (2002). Somalia and the Imperial Savage: Continuities in the Rhetoric of War. Western Journal of Communication, 6, 1–24.
Campbell, D. (1998). Writing Security: United States Foreign Policy and the Politics of Identity. University of Minnesota Press.
Clinton, W. J. (1993, June 17). The President’s News Conference. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-1223
Clinton, W. J. (1993, June 26). Address to the Nation on the Strike on Iraqi Intelligence Headquarters. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-nation-the-strike-iraqi-intelligence-headquarters
Clinton, W. J. (1993, October 07). Address to the Nation on Somalia. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-nation-somalia
Clinton, W. J. (1994, July 30). Remarks at a Reception for Joel Hyatt in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-reception-for-joel-hyatt-mayfield-heights-ohio
Clinton, W. J. (1994, September 15). Address to the Nation on Haiti. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-nation-haiti
Clinton, W. J. (1994, September 16). Remarks at a Meeting of the Multinational Coalition on Haiti. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-meeting-the-multinational-coalition-haiti
Clinton, W. J. (1994, September 21). Remarks to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-presidents-committee-the-arts-and-the-humanities
Clinton, W. J. (1995, February 28). The President’s News Conference With Prime Minister Wim Kok of The Netherlands. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-with-prime-minister-wim-kok-the-netherlands
Clinton, W. J. (1995, July 14). Remarks at the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-central-intelligence-agency-langley-virginia
Clinton, W. J. (1995, June 27). Remarks at the Opening Session of the Pacific Rim Economic Conference in Portland, Oregon. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-opening-session-the-pacific-rim-economic-conference-portland-oregon
Clinton, W. J. (1995, September 01). Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Deployment of United States Aircraft to Bosnia‑Herzegovina. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/letter-congressional-leaders-reporting-the-deployment-united-states-aircraft-bosnia
Clinton, W. J. (1997, April 11). Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With the American Society of Newspaper Editors. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-and-question-and-answer-session-with-the-american-society-newspaper-editors-1
Clinton, W. J. (1997, February 04). Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-before-joint-session-the-congress-the-state-the-union-9
Clinton, W. J. (1997, March 10). Letter to Congressional Leaders Transmitting the Report on Peacekeeping Operations. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/letter-congressional-leaders-transmitting-the-report-peacekeeping-operations-0
Clinton, W. J. (1998, August 08). The President’s Radio Address. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-radio-address-191
Clinton, W. J. (1998, August 20). Address to the Nation on Military Action Against Terrorist Sites in Afghanistan and Sudan. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-nation-military-action-against-terrorist-sites-afghanistan-and-sudan
Clinton, W. J. (1998, December 16). Address to the Nation Announcing Military Strikes on Iraq. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-nation-announcing-military-strikes-iraq
Clinton, W. J. (1999, February 13). The President’s Radio Address. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-radio-address-87
Clinton, W. J. (1999, March 23). Remarks at the Legislative Convention of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-legislative-convention-the-american-federation-state-county-and-municipal
Clinton, W. J. (1999, May 13). Remarks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States at Fort McNair, Maryland. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-veterans-foreign-wars-the-united-states-fort-mcnair-maryland
Cox, J. R. (1981). Argument and the ‘Definition of the Situation. Central States Speech Journal, 32, 197–205.
Devroy, A., & Smith, J. (1993, October 17). Clinton Reexamines Foreign Policy Under Siege. Washington Post, 1.
Friedman, T. (1993, October 1). Theory Versus Practice: Clinton’s Stated Policy Turns into More Modest Self Containment. The New York Times, A2, 9.
Greenstein, F. (1994). The Presidential Leadership Style of Bill Clinton: An Early Appraisal. Miller Center Journal, 1, 13–23.
Henderson, P. G. (2000). Technocratic Leadership: The Policy Wonk Presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. In P. G. Henderson (Ed.), The Presidency Then and Now (pp. 219–248). Rowman & Littlefield.
Hollihan, T. A. (1986). The Public Controversy over the Panama Canal Treaties: An Analysis of American Foreign Policy Rhetoric. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 50(4), 370–376.
Jasinski, J. (2001). Sourcebook on Rhetoric: Key Concepts in Contemporary Rhetorical Studies. Sage.
Jason, E. A., & Valenzano III, J. M. (2007). Bill Clinton’s “New Partnership” Anecdote. Journal of Language and Politics, 6(2), 303–325.
Logan, C. J. (1996). U.S. Public Opinion and the Intervention in Somalia: Lessons for the Future of Military‑Humanitarian Interventions. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 20(2), 155–180.
Maynes, C. W. (1996). Bottom‑Up Foreign Policy. Foreign Policy, 104, 35–53.
Miller, L. B. (1994). The Clinton Years: Reinventing US Foreign Policy? International Affairs, 70(4), 621–634.
Newport, F. (2017). U.S. Support for Syria Strikes Rates Low in Historical Context. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/208334/support-syria-strikes-rates-low-historical-context.aspx
Olson, K. M. (2004). Democratic Enlargement’s Value Hierarchy and Rhetorical Forms: An Analysis of Clinton’s Use of Post‑Cold War Symbolic Frame to Justify Military Interventions. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 34, 307–340.
Perelman, C. (1970). The New Rhetoric: A Theory of Practical Reasoning. In The Great Ideas Today (pp. 272–312). Encyclopedia Brittanica.
Perelman, C., & Olbrechts‑Tyteca, L. (1969). The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation. University of Notre Dame Press.
Potts, M. (2022). What Do Americans Think About War? FiveThirtyEight. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-americans-are-unlikely-to-support-a-war-in-ukraine/
Reeves, R. (1996). Running in Place: How Bill Clinton Disappointed America. Andrews and McMeel.
Schiappa, E. (2003). Defining Reality: Definitions and the Politics of Meaning. Southern Illinois University Press.
Schneider, W. (1997). The New Isolationism. In R. J. Lieber (Ed.), Eagle Adrift: American Foreign Policy at the End of the Century (pp. 26–38). Longman.
Stuckey, M. E. (1995). Competing Foreign Policy Visions: Rhetorical Hybrids after the Cold War. Western Journal of Communication, 59, 214–227.
Whittington, K. E. (2000). The Rhetorical Presidency, Presidential Authority, and Bill Clinton. In P. G. Henderson (Ed.), The Presidency Then and Now (pp. 201–218). Rowman & Littlefield.
Winkler, C. K. (2006). In the Name of Terrorism: Presidents on Political Violence in the Post‑World War II Era. State University of New York Press.
Yoo, J. C. (2000). UN Wars, US War Powers. Chicago Journal of International Law, 1(2), 355–373.
Zarefsky, D. (1986). President Johnson’s War on Poverty: Rhetoric and History. University of Alabama Press.
Zarefsky, D. (2004). Presidential Rhetoric and the Power of Definition. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 34(3), 607–619.
Zarefsky, D. (2014). Rhetorical Perspectives on Argumentation. Springer.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Polish Communication Association
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
