Content

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH′S REMARKS AT THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL

ASSEMBLY 3

3. DETECTED FALLACIES IN BUSH`S SPEECH 10

3.1 APPEAL TO PITY 10

3.2 FALLACY OF FALSE DICHOTOMY 10

3.3 APPPEAL TO FORCE 11

3.4 APPEAL TO IGNORANCE 12

3.5 FALSE OR WEAK ANALOGY 14

3.6 APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE 14

3.7 APPEAL TO UNQUALIFIED AUTHORITY 15

3.8 RED HERRING 16

4.

CONCLUSION 17

2

1. Introduction

In contrast to logical fallacies, which are independent of content, fallacies of content usually

require specific factual knowledge to be revealed. They are not faulty because of their

structure, but on account of their questionable content. The following term paper will be

concerned with a piece of argumentative prose, which shall be analyzed for the various

fallacies based on Patrick J. Hurley′s

A Concise Introduction To Logic

.

The major focus therefore shall be on the detection of fallacies of content. First, I am

going to discuss in detail which kind of factual knowledge have led me to diagnose the

fallacies that appear in the text. Secondly, I will explain why an uniformed reader might fall

victim to the claims in my chosen text.

2. President George W. Bush′s Remarks at the United
Nations General Assembly

On September 12, 2002 George W. Bush discussed "War on Terror" at the United Nations

General Assembly1 in New York:

"Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, and ladies and gentlemen: We

meet one year and one day after a terrorist attack brought grief to my country, and brought

grief to many citizens of our world. Yesterday, we remembered the innocent lives taken that

terrible morning. Today, we turn to the urgent duty of protecting other lives, without illusion

and without fear.

We′ve accomplished much in the last year -- in Afghanistan and beyond. We have much yet

to do -- in Afghanistan and beyond. Many nations represented here have joined in the fight

against global terror, and the people of the United States are grateful.

The United Nations was born in the hope that survived a world war -- the hope of a world

moving toward justice, escaping old patterns of conflict and fear. The founding members

resolved that the peace of the world must never again be destroyed by the will and wickedness

of any man. We created the United Nations Security Council, so that, unlike the League of

Nations, our deliberations would be more than talk, our resolutions would be more than

wishes. After generations of deceitful dictators and broken treaties and squandered lives, we

1

"Established in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly occupies a central

position as the chief deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the United Nations. Comprising all

192 Members of the United Nations, it provides a forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of

international issues covered by the Charter. It also plays a significant role in the process of standard-setting and

the codification of international law. The Assembly meets in regular session intensively from September to

December each year, and thereafter as required" (cf. http://www.un.org/ga/about/background.shtml).

3

dedicated ourselves to standards of human dignity shared by all, and to a system of security

defended by all.

Today, these standards, and this security, are challenged. Our commitment to human dignity

is challenged by persistent poverty and raging disease. The suffering is great, and our

responsibilities are clear. The United States is joining with the world to supply aid where it

reaches people and lifts up lives, to extend trade and the prosperity it brings, and to bring

medical care where it is desperately needed.

As a symbol of our commitment to human dignity, the United States will return to UNESCO.

(Applause.) This organization has been reformed and America will participate fully in its

mission to advance human rights and tolerance and learning.

Our common security is challenged by regional conflicts -- ethnic and religious strife that is

ancient, but not inevitable. In the Middle East, there can be no peace for either side without

freedom for both sides. America stands committed to an independent and democratic

Palestine, living side by side with Israel in peace and security. Like all other people,

Palestinians deserve a government that serves their interests and listens to their voices. My

nation will continue to encourage all parties to step up to their responsibilities as we seek a

just and comprehensive settlement to the conflict.

Above all, our principles and our security are challenged today by outlaw groups and regimes

that accept no law of morality and have no limit to their violent ambitions. In the attacks on

America a year ago, we saw the destructive intentions of our enemies. This threat hides within

many nations, including my own. In cells and camps, terrorists are plotting further

destruction, and building new bases for their war against civilization. And our greatest fear is

that terrorists will find a shortcut to their mad ambitions when an outlaw regime supplies

them with the technologies to kill on a massive scale.

In one place -- in one regime -- we find all these dangers, in their most lethal and aggressive

forms, exactly the kind of aggressive threat the United Nations was born to confront.

Twelve years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait without provocation. And the regime′s forces were

poised to continue their march to seize other countries and their resources. Had Saddam

Hussein been appeased instead of stopped, he would have endangered the peace and stability

of the world. Yet this aggression was stopped -- by the might of coalition forces and the will

of the United Nations.

4

To suspend hostilities, to spare himself, Iraq′s dictator accepted a series of commitments. The

terms were clear, to him and to all. And he agreed to prove he is complying with every one of

those obligations.

He has proven instead only his contempt for the United Nations, and for all his pledges. By

breaking every pledge -- by his deceptions, and by his cruelties -- Saddam Hussein has made

the case against himself.

In 1991, Security Council Resolution 688 demanded that the Iraqi regime cease at once the

repression of its own people, including the systematic repression of minorities -- which the

Council said, threatened international peace and security in the region. This demand goes

ignored.

Last year, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights found that Iraq continues to commit

extremely grave violations of human rights, and that the regime′s repression is all pervasive.

Tens of thousands of political opponents and ordinary citizens have been subjected to

arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, summary execution, and torture by beating and burning,

electric shock, starvation, mutilation, and rape. Wives are tortured in front of their husbands,

children in the presence of their parents -- and all of these horrors concealed from the world

by the apparatus of a totalitarian state.

In 1991, the U.N. Security Council, through Resolutions 686 and 687, demanded that Iraq

return all prisoners from Kuwait and other lands. Iraq′s regime agreed. It broke its promise.

Last year the Secretary General′s high-level coordinator for this issue reported that Kuwait,

Saudi, Indian, Syrian, Lebanese, Iranian, Egyptian, Bahraini, and Omani nationals remain

unaccounted for -- more than 600 people. One American pilot is among them.

In 1991, the U.N. Security Council, through Resolution 687, demanded that Iraq renounce all

involvement with terrorism, and permit no terrorist organizations to operate in Iraq. Iraq′s

regime agreed. It broke this promise. In violation of Security Council Resolution 1373, Iraq

continues to shelter and support terrorist organizations that direct violence against Iran, Israel,

and Western governments. Iraqi dissidents abroad are targeted for murder. In 1993, Iraq

attempted to assassinate the Emir of Kuwait and a former American President. Iraq′s

government openly praised the attacks of September the 11th. And al Qaeda terrorists escaped

from Afghanistan and are known to be in Iraq.

In 1991, the Iraqi regime agreed to destroy and stop developing all weapons of mass

destruction and long-range missiles, and to prove to the world it has done so by complying

with rigorous inspections. Iraq has broken every aspect of this fundamental pledge.

5