Iraqi Prisoner Abuse

Paper Summary:

This paper notes that examining the impact of media reports about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison reveals the powerful emotional impact of photographs and video. The author points out that only minor attention was paid to the story until shocking visual evidence of abuse became available. The paper contends that the media controversy generated by Abu Ghraib demonstrated that reality itself has become a prisoner in America, bound and chained by political ideology and vulnerable to the whims of those in authority.

From the Paper:

"In examining the impact of media reports about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American military personnel in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, it is significant that only minor attention was paid to the story until shocking photographs and videos became available. Visual proof of prisoner abuse (Kick) altered the American public's perceptions of reality in a fundamental way and revealed the shallow and superficial knowledge many Americans have of what is happening in the world. The Abu Ghraib debacle and the controversy it generated exposed the manipulative nature of the Bush Administration and the mainstream media establishment, which both benefit from portraying American military operations as idealistic crusades against "evil.""

More papers on Iraqi Prisoner Abuse :

• Term Paper # 102579 : "Iraqi Prisoner Abuse"
• Research Paper # 97621 : "Abu Ghraib Prison"
• Article Review # 135052 : "Abuse at Abu Ghraib"

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