Contribution to Book
Barack Obama: From an End to Terror to Drone Wars and ISIS
Presidential Rhetoric on Terrorism under Bush, Obama and Trump
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
3-22-2020
Disciplines
- Administrative Law,
- International and Area Studies,
- Law,
- Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility,
- Legal Profession,
- Legal Studies,
- Near and Middle Eastern Studies,
- Other International and Area Studies,
- Other Legal Studies,
- Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration,
- Peace and Conflict Studies,
- Political Science,
- Public Affairs,
- Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration,
- Social and Behavioral Sciences,
- State and Local Government Law and
- Terrorism Studies
Abstract
Barack Obama attempted to recalibrate presidential rhetoric on the terror threat. He made far fewer speeches about terrorism than George W. Bush did. Yet, despite some efforts to the contrary, he continued many of Bush’s policies—and in the case of targeted assassinations using drones (unmanned aerial vehicles), went further than Bush. The analysis of Obama’s rhetoric on terrorism shows a president who both wants to distance himself from his predecessor and one who wants to be seen as tough on terrorism. In the final analysis, Obama’s rhetoric and policies hewed rather closely to George W. Bush’s. This chapter raises questions about how the terror threat can be recalibrated given Obama’s failure to properly evaluate the threat from ISIS. It also shows that presidents do not need to speak much about an issue when policies to deal with it have already been passed.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30167-5_3
Book Publisher
Palgrave Pivot, Cham
Journal ISSN / Book ISBN
978-3-030-30167-5
Published Citation
Rubin, Gabriel. "Barack Obama: From an End to Terror to Drone Wars and ISIS." In Presidential Rhetoric on Terrorism under Bush, Obama and Trump, pp. 81-103. Palgrave Pivot, Cham, 2020.
Citation Information
Gabriel Rubin. "Barack Obama: From an End to Terror to Drone Wars and ISIS" Presidential Rhetoric on Terrorism under Bush, Obama and Trump (2020) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/gabriel-rubin/13/