By the early 2000s, the Iraq War had already started to lose its heroic shine. The promises of “liberation” and “democracy” were overshadowed by endless violence, failed policies, and rising opposition. But nothing shattered the illusion of a noble war quite like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

The leaked images from Abu Ghraib in 2004 exposed a level of cruelty that even Hollywood couldn’t spin into heroism. Yet, the media response—and Hollywood’s deafening silence—showed just how deeply the pro-war narrative had been embedded into American culture.

The Abu Ghraib Scandal: America’s Dirty Secret

In 2003, the U.S. military took over Abu Ghraib, a notorious Iraqi prison that had been used by Saddam Hussein’s regime to torture prisoners. Ironically, under U.S. control, the prison became even worse.

Then, in April 2004, CBS News’ 60 Minutes leaked shocking images from inside Abu Ghraib:

• Naked Iraqi prisoners stacked in human pyramids.
• Detainees electrocuted, beaten, and attacked by military dogs.
• A U.S. soldier holding a prisoner on a leash like a dog.
• American guards posing next to dead bodies—smiling.

It was undeniable proof that U.S. troops were torturing Iraqis. The world erupted in outrage.

Even President George W. Bush—who had spent years defending the war—was forced to admit that the images were a national disgrace. He went on television, looking serious and regretful, claiming that the abuse was carried out by a few bad soldiers and that it didn’t represent America’s values.

But here’s the thing: it wasn’t just “a few bad apples.”

The torture at Abu Ghraib wasn’t random—it was part of a systematic strategy used in several U.S. military prisons. The U.S. had secretly approved the use of “enhanced interrogation” techniques—a fancy term for torture.

The Media’s Selective Outrage

When the Abu Ghraib scandal broke, the media had two choices:

1. Expose the truth—that the Iraq War was built on lies and that American soldiers were committing war crimes.
2. Minimize the damage—make it seem like an isolated incident and keep the public’s faith in the war effort.
   Most mainstream outlets went with option two.

Fox News, for example, downplayed the scandal, calling it a distraction from the “real fight against terrorism.” Some conservative pundits even defended the abuse, arguing that the detainees were “terrorists” who deserved harsh treatment.

Meanwhile, Hollywood—the same industry that had been pumping out pro-military films for years—suddenly had nothing to say.

Where was the big-budget drama exposing the truth about Abu Ghraib?
Where was the Oscar-winning movie about the Iraqi prisoners who suffered?

Nowhere.

Instead, Hollywood continued making movies that glorified U.S. troops while ignoring the war crimes they committed.

Even when some films—like Redacted (2007)—tried to address these issues, they were buried by the industry. Director Brian De Palma faced massive backlash, and the film was labeled “unpatriotic” and “anti-American.”

The message was clear: You can make movies about soldiers suffering, but not about the people they hurt.

The Soldiers Who Got Away With It

After the Abu Ghraib scandal broke, the U.S. military needed someone to blame. They couldn’t let the entire war effort be called into question, so they sacrificed a handful of low-ranking soldiers—while the top officials who created the policies walked away free.

In total, only 11 soldiers were convicted for the abuses at Abu Ghraib. Most of them received minor punishments—a few months in prison, demotions, or salary cuts.

The real masterminds? No consequences.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who oversaw the war and approved interrogation techniques? Nothing.

President George W. Bush, who sent these soldiers into an unwinnable war? Nothing.

Meanwhile, many of the Iraqi prisoners who survived Abu Ghraib were never compensated, never given justice, and never even given an apology.

But the U.S. military wasn’t done covering things up.

The Hidden Photos & The Legal Battle

In 2016, thirteen years after the Abu Ghraib scandal, a U.S. federal judge ordered the Pentagon to release 2,000 more photos from American military prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan. These photos allegedly contained even worse abuses than what was originally leaked.

So, what did the Pentagon do?

They refused to release them.

Instead, they published only 198 carefully selected photos, most of which didn’t show the worst abuses. What was in the other 1,800 photos? No one knows.

But given what was already leaked, it’s not hard to imagine.

Hollywood’s Hypocrisy: War Heroes vs. War Crimes

Despite the undeniable horrors of Abu Ghraib, Hollywood continued to glorify the Iraq War. Even after the scandal, movies like The Hurt Locker (2008) and American Sniper (2014) told the story from the soldiers’ perspective, framing them as the ultimate victims.

Where was the movie about the Iraqis who suffered?
Where was the film about the systematic cover-up?

Nowhere.

Instead, audiences were given films that reinforced the idea that the real victims were the American troops—the ones who were just “doing their job” and had to make hard choices.

And yet, when Jon Stewart called out Hollywood’s obsession with Iraq War movies at the 2008 Oscars, he was seen as controversial.

Imagine that. Pointing out the truth was controversial, but making war propaganda wasn’t.

The War on Public Perception

The Abu Ghraib scandal should have been the turning point—the moment when Americans finally questioned what was happening in Iraq. Instead, the U.S. government, mainstream media, and Hollywood worked together to minimize the damage.

The government punished a few scapegoats and pretended the problem was solved.
The media treated it like an isolated incident, not part of a larger system.

What’s Next?

The Abu Ghraib scandal showed that controlling the narrative isn’t enough to erase the truth. The U.S. military and Hollywood tried to spin the Iraq War as a heroic mission—but the world saw the leaked photos and made up its own mind.

In Part 3, we’ll go back to the 1990s and examine how the Gulf War set the stage for America’s modern propaganda machine—long before Hollywood became obsessed with Iraq.

Because believe it or not, this wasn’t the first time the U.S. manipulated public perception to justify a war.
Hollywood ignored it completely, continuing to make films that framed U.S. troops as the heroes.
But despite all this effort, the truth still leaked through. The images from Abu Ghraib became one of the most infamous symbols of America’s failure in Iraq, and even the most die-hard war supporters couldn’t deny that something had gone terribly wrong.

By the late 2000s, public support for the war had collapsed, and the Bush administration was in full damage control.

But by then, the damage was already done.