Prologue

April 2004

The newsroom was filled with muffled conversations as a young reporter named Tim McCaffrey lazily put the finishing touches to an article he was writing. The article was a piece on the continuing war in Afghanistan and the recent rise of civilian deaths. McCaffrey wrote the horrid facts with little interest; it was just another day in a country that no one seemed to care about. He supposed that wasn't true, if people didn't care about what was going on in Afghanistan then he wouldn't have been given the assignment. It was the people that made up the statistics that no one cared about.

McCaffrey leaned back in his chair and sighed. When he was in college, he dreamed of becoming a journalist who would stop at nothing no matter who or what got in his way. The reality of the situation, however, turned out to be very disappointing. Anytime he pitched a story idea to his editor it was quickly turned down. Anytime he called an official for an interview, he was simply ignored. There was nothing more frustrating than never having the chance to do anything. And in less than one year he had stopped trying to change the world with the power of the press.

To McCaffrey it didn't even matter anymore anyway; he was struggling to make ends meet and he ended up being too tired to take on any extra work. He missed the old days in college when it was easy to feel like he was making a difference. All the times he went to the rallies holding up what he thought to be a clever sign and screaming at the top of his lungs. Drivers would honk in support as they passed by, which always made him scream louder. Now, 3 years after graduating and with a second war in Iraq already reaching a year, there was little hope left in him. Now he turned in whatever crap articles they asked for and so he could pay the bills.

McCaffrey saved his article without bothering to check for errors and opened up his email to send it to his editor. His inbox flooded with offers to enlarge his penis and whatever other nonsense they tried to sell people on the internet. But there was one email that stood out in particular. It was an email from someone named John Smith. The subject simply read “Anonymous Tip.” McCaffrey opened it up, surprised at how short it was:

Thought you might be interested.

There was a video attached, entitled “Abu Ghraib Prison.” McCaffrey had never heard of it, and wondered what was so special about it.