In March 2003, he visited Iraq soon before the American-led invasion which began on 19 March. On this visit he was able to observe how Iraqi civilians were preparing for the war they knew was coming. After the invasion he visited Iraq three times before May 2004, interviewing American soldiers and Iraqi civilians and soldiers, focusing especially on the role of music on the modern battlefield. Although Australian troops were serving in Iraq, Gittoes had little contact with them. Out of this came one of his most acclaimed films, "Soundtrack to War", which was released in 2004 and shown on Australian TV and on MTV in the United States. Some of Gittoes’ film was also used in Michael Moore’s "Fahrenheit 9/11". As well as film, Gittoes produced a lot of art out his time in Iraq, leading to an exhibition, "No exit: a Tale of Two Cities – George Gittoes in New York and Baghdad". Two years later, in 2006, he linked up again with some of the African-American soldiers who had featured in Soundtrack to War, this time on their home turf in Miami, Florida, making a film, "Rampage", about a gang-based sub-culture which some of the soldiers commented was more dangerous than Iraq. Rampage featured in a number of film festivals, and had cinema releases in Australia, Britain and the United States.