Abu Ghraib Photos: Museum Censorship and the Public's Right to Know
This essay argues that graphic photographs documenting prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib detention center in Baghdad should not be censored from future museum exhibitions about the Iraq War. Drawing on Seymour Hersh's reporting in The New Yorker, declassified Army reports, and articles from the American Journal of International Law, the paper examines the nature of the abuses committed, the legal frameworks — including the Geneva Conventions and the UN Convention Against Torture — that were violated, and the Bush Administration's resistance to anti-torture legislation. A parallel is drawn to the Smithsonian's 1995 controversy over its atomic bomb exhibit to illustrate how political pressure can compromise institutional honesty. The essay concludes that full historical transparency demands these images be made available to the public.
- Introduction: A Future Exhibition on the Iraq War: Thesis introduced via hypothetical future Iraq War museum exhibit
- Ethical Issues: Torture and Disturbing Photographs: Detailed evidence of Abu Ghraib abuses from Hersh and Taguba
- Illegal Torture of Prisoners: How Did It Happen?: International law violations and Rumsfeld's authorization of coercive techniques
- Legislation Against Torture Thwarted by the Bush Administration: Bush signing statements undermining anti-torture legislation
- Conclusion: Museums and the Public's Right to Know: Smithsonian analogy and case for full photographic transparency
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds its argument in concrete primary and secondary sources — Hersh's New Yorker exposé, the Taguba Report, and the American Journal of International Law — lending credibility to its claims about the scope and legality of the abuses.
- It broadens its argument beyond Abu Ghraib by drawing a historical parallel to the Smithsonian's 1995 atomic bomb exhibit controversy, demonstrating that political censorship of difficult museum content is a recurring institutional problem.
- The essay maintains a clear, consistent thesis throughout: full historical transparency requires that no images from the Iraq War — however disturbing — be withheld from the public.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper uses a structured point-by-point argument, moving from the ethical dimension of the photographs, to the legal framework they violated, to legislative efforts to address those violations, and finally to the museum-censorship question. This layered approach builds a cumulative case before reaching its conclusion, showing how to organize a persuasive argument across multiple distinct but related sub-claims.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a hypothetical framing device — a future Iraq War exhibition — to introduce its thesis. It then proceeds through four labeled sections: the ethical weight of the Abu Ghraib photographs (with detailed evidence from the Taguba Report), the legal context of how the abuses occurred, the Bush Administration's resistance to legislative remedies, and a concluding section that returns to the museum question via the Smithsonian atomic bomb exhibit analogy.
Introduction: A Future Exhibition on the Iraq War
One day, not too many years from now, there will likely be a high-visibility exhibition featuring illustrations, graphs, charts, photography, audio and video clips, and timely printed information about the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. This presentation will cover the intelligence data and political arguments offered by the executive branch to justify the military venture. Under the scrutiny of post-invasion empirical analysis, the exposition will reflect precisely how those previous justifications held up. It will also cover the military and political ramifications of the entire operation.
It will be widely publicized and will receive positive critiques for its thoroughness and its revelations of previously unknown yet pertinent facts. This exposition may travel from museum to museum, or may find a home in one high-visibility museum for a long period of time, but it will eventually become part of a permanent record of the Iraq War.
Among the photographic images that will likely be part of this proposed presentation are graphic and disturbing images taken of prisoner abuse in the Abu Ghraib detention center in Baghdad. There may be museum board members or staff who will not want those horrifying photos to be shown. They will use numerous arguments to present their case. In conservative areas of the country, editorial writers will condemn the use of the photos.
Others will say that the truth about U.S. involvement at all levels must be presented, lest it be called censorship. The opinion expressed in this essay is that there should be no censorship of photos of Abu Ghraib, or any other images that were published during this war. For example, there are grim photos of U.S. soldiers hanging from an overpass in Baghdad — men taken prisoner by insurgents, beheaded, and hung by their feet. Those too should be shown.
Beyond any specific photograph, records of the entire bloody reality of the military venture must be made available to the public, and individuals can decide whether they wish to experience the exposition or not. The truth about many aspects of U.S. involvement with Iraq was hidden from Americans for several years. Following the horrors of September 11, 2001, the George W. Bush Administration used patriotism and what it called the "War on Terrorism" to justify keeping many clandestine activities secret from the American people. But now that many of those hidden facts have come out, and now that the U.S. Congress has attempted to take legislative action against the apparent use of torture and other acts that violate international treaties and accords, everything should be out on the table for citizens to view and judge for themselves.
Works Cited
Bernstein, Barton J. "Misconceived Patriotism: The Smithsonian's Critics Should Have Defended Freedom Rather Than Censorship." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 51.3 (1995): 4–5.
Crook, John. "New U.S. Legislation Prohibits Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment, Restricts Habeas Corpus Petitions by Guantanamo Detainees, and Establishes Limited Judicial Review of Military Commissions." The American Journal of International Law 100.2 (2006): 455–459.
Hersh, Seymour. "Torture at Abu Ghraib." The New Yorker. 2004. Retrieved 26 Feb. 2007 from
The American Journal of International Law. "U.S. Abuse of Iraqi Detainees at Abu Ghraib Prison." 98.3 (2004): 591–596.
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