As soon as the repugnant photos of torture at Abu Ghraib prison -- the pyramid of naked prisoners , the groveling man on a dog leash , the hooded man with outstretched arms -- hit the airwaves and newspaper stands , they became iconic images : gruesome symbols of what went wrong with the war and postwar occupation of Iraq , and for many in the Muslim world , the very embodiment of their worst fears about American hegemony .