In President Bush's commencement address at the US Military Academy at West Point (June 1, 2002), he makes the argument that the US should have the right to wage preemptive war. He supports this argument by emphasizing the failure of past policies, namely their reliance on deterrence, containment, and defense, calling for active action, something to nip the problem in the bud, so to speak, affirming the need for a strong security force and moral basis, and dissuading claims that preemptive actions are undiplomatic. Bush clearly felt that actions of the past had not been enough to solve their problems, and he hoped to convince others to see that he was right. President Bush uses a tone of firmness and action to convey his message in this speech to the cadets at West Point.
Bush uses a firm, action oriented tone to present his case for preemptive war, as evidenced by the statement, "If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited for too long." This sentence would have rung true especially so soon after the devastating attacks on the World Trade Centers on September 11th, 2001, less than a year earlier. His tone continues as such when he states, "All nations that decide for aggression and terror will pay a price." The last four words strike a tone of firmness and decisiveness, a continuation of earlier in the passage. The result of this is that Americans will feel safe, and feel as if there is a leader during this time of worry and uncertainty.
