WH press secretary chops logic to justify Gitmo crimes.

[mistertrickster]

Question Begging—The truth of the conclusion is assumed by the premises. Often, the conclusion is simply restated in the premises in a slightly different form. In more difficult cases, the premise is a consequence of the conclusion.

Now comes Scottie McClellan’s reason for why the detainees at Gitmo never get a trial and can be tortured and held indefinitely: “Individuals who are at Guantanamo Bay are dangerous terrorists who seek to do harm to the American people. And the President is committed to doing everything he can to keep America safe and protect the American people.”

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050613-3.html#d

And how do we know they’re “dangerous terrorists?”

Why, BECAUSE THEY’RE AT GUANTANAMO BAY.

It's a perfect example of begging the question, justifying the premise (they deserve abuse and imprisonment) by assuming the conclusion true (that they’re already guilty).

[aion]

1. præposterus

.

[ogradda]

2. I think that's what they call "circular logic."

If my understanding of the term is correct. You'd think we could at least try them and see if they're guilty before locking them up and tossing the key.

[NightOwwl]

3. Catch 22, much? n/t

[KharmaTrain]

4. But, But, But...They're Killers I Tell Ya

I keep hearing that crap over and over. If any of these prisoners are killers, get the evidence, get some lawyers, get a judge and let's go to trial. Enough is enough. People would feel a lot safer if we saw trials and convictions; knowing this regime was doing its job.

But the wingnuts tell us we can't have a trial or anything since these are "killers" and they are "prisoners of war"...despite no war ever being declared and little to no accounting as to what prisoners we have and where they're being held. How this incognito game works to make me safer is beyond my comprehension.

Yep, they've legitimized torture and the operation of a consentration camp as well as the destruction of habeus corpus...cause "they're killers", yet we expect their family and friends to "embrace democracy"?

This is the elephant attempting to stomp on the ant...and the ants rarely lose.

[tuvor]

5. It's like I've found a lost Monty Python script n/t

[aion]

6. If you saw US Troops near you, knowing what you know...

If you were an Iraqi or an Afghani, and you knew that the Murikans were using fallacious logic in order to lock people up, what might you do?

If you have a family, and maybe a couple children...and you see the troops going door to door...what might you do when you realize that for absolutely no reason at all you may find yourself unable to nurture your own flesh and blood for years on end....what might you do?

If we operated in a fair-minded even-handed fashion, there wouldn't be nearly the so-called 'justification' for being there in the first place...which is why, I suppose, Bush likes it that way.

[spindoctor]

7. It makes perfect sense...

...coming from an Administration who's only claim to power is that they occupy the White House. We're here, we must be elected.

[mistertrickster]

8. Heh heh, good one.

How do we know we got a mandate? Because we're sitting in the WH.