Question

Journalist Question: "Have you got any American citizens out [of Afghanistan] since

the last flight left on August 30th?"

Response from the State Department Spokesman: "So what I will say is that we are
exploring all possible options to bring Americans, to bring LPRS [Legal Permanent
Residents], to bring those to whom we have a special commitment out of
Afghanistan, if they should choose to do so. When we have options for these
individuals, and I say when because we have a commitment and we are going to
continue to do everything we can to support their desire to leave the country, we
will communicate directly to them personalized instructions on what they should do,
when they should do it, and how the United States Government feels. We are best
positioned to help them do that."

In this (real life) press conference exchange, which of the following strategies does
the spokesman use to answer the journalist's question?

A.Tu Quoque
B.Appeal to lgnorance
C.Red Herring
D.False Analogy

Answer 1

C

Step-by-step explanation:

The strategy used by the spokesman to answer the journalist's question is "Red Herring."

A red herring is a type of fallacy that involves diverting attention away from the original issue to a new topic that is not relevant to the discussion at hand. In this response, the spokesman does not directly answer the journalist's question about whether any American citizens have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the last flight left on August 30th. Instead, the spokesman talks about the commitment of the US government to bring Americans and legal permanent residents out of Afghanistan, and how the government will communicate directly with them on how to do so. This response does not provide any direct information about the number of Americans who have been evacuated since August 30th, and can be seen as an attempt to shift the focus away from the journalist's question.

Therefore, option C, Red Herring, is the correct answer.