Another Hollywood director has created quite a stir over his latest depiction of the war in Iraq, based on a true story.

Redacted, a pseudo-documentary directed by Brian De Palma and financed by Mark Cuban, depicts a group of American soldiers in Iraq raping and murdering a 14-year-old and slaughtering her family.

Because of the controversial nature of this material, right-wing political zealot Bill O' Reilly has been critically outspoken of this film. He asserts that the film puts U.S. soldiers in the worst possible light. In his column, O' Reilly also states, "a depiction like this will be displayed prominently on jihadi Web sites and will be used as a recruiting tool by terrorists. No doubt."

Propagandized rhetoric such as O'Reilly's doesn't adequately serve the American public. It is the same sort of naïve reaction that other conservatives had to such films as Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. At certain times, such shocking material can have such an effect on its audience that its drives them to act.

In response to O' Reilly's comments, De Palma said to the Canadian Press, "I have been needlessly attacked in the press and the blogs as a left-wing wacko who should be horse-whipped, and how can I say anything terrible about what's going on in relation to the troops?... I just state what I feel very strongly, and I don't have to be loved ... I'm not running for office."

It is sad that any person who openly criticized the war in Iraq or the immoral actions of some soldiers is painted as un-American. It is our duty as American citizen to be openly critical of the actions that surround us.

That is not to say that this film accurately depicts the actions of the majority of soldiers in Iraq. However, does anybody remember the morally questionable actions of soldiers at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp?

Like everyone else, soldiers are human, and therefore subject to errors in judgment. Clearly, some soldiers do engage in morally amorphous behaviors and it is important to bring these actions into the public light so they may be rectified.

Given the controversial and shocking content with in this film, however, some audience members will be offended; rape and murder are never taken lightly. It is important that when the subject of a film hits so close to home that it be as close to the truth as possible.

Many Americans foolishly believe whatever they're told. Given that soldiers are deeply respected in our country, a film about actions taken by U.S. soldiers in Iraq should remain as close to the truth as possible, so as not to promote dangerous misconceptions.

Poignantly, in an interview with the Philadelphia City Paper, De Palma accuses the media of being too soft and openly pro-American with their coverage of the war in Iraq. Despite the fact that the patriotic fervor in this country has died down considerably since the aftermath of 9/11, the press is still quite soft and seemingly uncritical when covering the atrocities of this war.

De Palma said that as compared to now, during the Vietnam War, "we saw the images. We saw our casualties, we saw their casualties. That's what got us out into the streets, and that's what got us out of the war."

An openly critical and demanding media is the only way that the actions of our government can be truly exposed. I am in complete support of our troops, but given that American citizen's support for the war diminished considerably due to the shady actions of the Bush Administration, perhaps it's time for the media to take an even more critical look at the errors in judgment that have placed us in our current predicament.

According to pollingreport.com and USA Today, Bush's current overall approval rating lies somewhere around 30 percent. Clearly, this should be reflected in the coverage of the media, whose job it is to appropriately keep the public informed.

It is time the media puts all of the Bush administration's behavior regarding Iraq under the harsh stare of the public eye. Given that the Bush administration once forbade the press to photograph the coffins of soldiers killed oversees, the press should have an even greater drive to expose their agenda.

Clearly, O' Reilly is a right-wing wacko looking to crucify individuals who bravely chose to express their controversial viewpoints. It will not incite anti-American hatred around the world. If people around the world hate Americans, then we can undoubtedly thank the current administration for that.

[Reach columnist Chris Heide at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.]