2004 World Events · Counterterror expansion and networked conflict
Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal
Photographs revealed abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. personnel at Abu Ghraib prison.
Evidence-led reading
What is stated, why it matters, and what remains uncertain
What this is
A specific-event record selected from the protected World Events source ledger for cross-year research. It is not an exhaustive account of 2004.
Why it matters
It damaged U.S. credibility, fueled insurgent propaganda, and changed detention oversight debates.
What is established here
The page faithfully exposes the submitted record and its source boundary. No claim-level evidence packet has yet upgraded the record beyond a research starting point.
What remains uncertain
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
Record narrative
Source-bounded summary
Photographs revealed abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. personnel at Abu Ghraib prison.
It damaged U.S. credibility, fueled insurgent propaganda, and changed detention oversight debates.
Structured fields
Record at a glance
- Stable record ID
- 2004-002
- Date or period
- 2004-04 onward
- Type
- Military scandal / human rights
- Focus
- Military / governance
- Impact scope
- Global
- Priority
- 5 of 5
- Location label
- Abu Ghraib / Baghdad, Iraq
- Coordinate precision
- Site-level approximate coordinate
- Actors named by the source record
- U.S. military personnel; detainees; investigators
- Verification state
- source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification
Geographic context
A coordinate locator, not a surveyed event footprint
The submitted record supplies 33.2919, 44.0656 with the precision label “Site-level approximate coordinate.” Multi-location events, disputed borders, campaigns, and broad regions cannot be reduced to one point.
Review location and coordinate boundariesSource and verification boundary
This remains a starting-point record
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
Citation and correction
Use the stable record ID and challenge individual propositions
A correction may concern the date, place, actors, attribution, legal status, figures, coordinate precision, source characterization, or why-pivotal summary without invalidating every other field.
2IA — International Intelligence Archive. “Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.” World Events record 2004-002. Reviewed July 27, 2026. https://2ix.org/world-events/2004/2004-002/