The Construction of Arabs as Enemies: Post-September 11 Discourse of George W. Bush

Abstract

In the weeks following the September 11, 2001, tragedy, President George W. Bush gave several addresses to the nation. His rhetoric built on stereotypical words and images already established in more than 20 years of media and popular culture portrayals of Arabs as evil, bloodthirsty, animalistic terrorists. Textual analysis reveals that Bush's speeches, from his public statements on September 11, 2001, to the January 29, 2002, State of the Union address, reflected an identifiable model of enemy image construction that had, and continues to have, important human rights implications for Arab American citizens and noncitizens.