The Power of Reality

In the Project for the New American Century, the Letter to President Clinton on Iraq is a frightfully chilling document for any American today. This letter, written in 1998, is an urgent plea from eighteen men and women to President Clinton to change foreign policy with regards to Iraq. The information and argument presented in this letter is so disturbing because only three years after it was written the terrifying future that these authors predicted came true. On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and what was intended to be the White House were targeted and attacked by Al-Qaida suicide bombers, and it has been debated for the past nine years as to whether or not the Iraqi government was aware of the plot. I do not intend to give my own opinion as to the culpability of Saddam Hussein's regime, however, the authors of this letter have created a shockingly powerful and compelling argument, specifically in retrospect of the September 11th attacks.

According to James Kinneavy, the persuasive power of this letter comes from more than just the words or tone the authors used. The intention, or aim, of the argument requires an understanding of the purposed effect that the writing has on the intended audience. In this case, this letter is intended to be read by President Clinton, so the persuasive power is one of a political call to action. However, since the letter has been published for the public viewing since its release, the new power it possesses over the reader, rather than a logical political agenda, is one of emotion and sadness because of the tragic attack on this nation. This shows how the writer's words and intentions can be perceived differently depending on the reader's current reality, a point Kinneavy claims is essential to any persuasive act.

For most Americans (those old enough to remember the attacks), that reality is both painful and confusing. To this day, it has never been made clear to the public whether or not Saddam Hussein's Iraq funded Al-Qaida, or even if they had any knowledge of the attacks whatsoever. Because of this mystery, the letter has a much stronger argument when the authors say, "the security of the world in the first part of the 21st century will be determined largely by how we handle this threat." The world we currently live in is viewing firsthand the truth of this statement. In as little time as a few days after the 9/11 attacks Americans already saw how drastically airports began changing the procedures of their security checkpoints. When the authors of this letter were able to predict in 1998 that the United States could, "soon face a threat in the Middle East more serious than any we have known since the end of the Cold War," the reader is inevitably required to ask him/herself how the bombings on September 11th happened when three years prior to the attack the President was clearly aware of that possibility.

Based on the persuasive components to a piece of writing, according to Kinneavy, this letter has a powerful persuasive influence over the reader. Kinneavy emphasizes the importance of the relationship between the author (or as he calls it, encoder), the words (s)he uses, and the current reality of the reader (decoder). In the case of this letter, this relationship differs greatly because of the current reality of our world. If this letter had been read by a viewer (other than the President, the intended viewer) in 1998, they probably would have been considerably less affected by the authors' words. The current context of the letter, however, speaks volumes to the reader, because it means that people saw that the United States was greatly threatened and that no steps were taken to prevent any potential attacks. This jarring news brings new sentiment to the argument and stimulates wonder about the surprise of the bombings. Because of this new reference point, the persuasive power of the letter is of a very dynamic and continually evolving nature, and proves Kinneavy's point that the piece itself is only as persuasive as the reality it exists in.