Shock and Anger in Baghdad Greet the Abu Ghraib News

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Even those who say they would have been willing to give Sgt. Cardona the benefit of the doubt, quickly add that his presence in Iraq was a bad idea. "He was convicted and punished for his acts, and even the Islamic Sharia'a says he should be forgiven," says Hussain al-Musawi, who heads the Shi'ite Political Council, an influential group within the Shi'ite coalition that dominates the Iraqi parliament. "But I don't think that the Iraqi government should allow him to enter the country—I think it will do whatever necessary to prevent that."

It is hard to overstate just how much the Abu Ghraib scandal still resonates with Iraqis. As a journalist, I am constantly reminded of it by Iraqis I meet—whether in the high offices of the Green Zone or in the streets of Baghdad. Those who resent the U.S. presence in Iraq never tire of using it as a flogging horse; even today, statements and videos issued by insurgent groups and jihadi organizations routinely cite Abu Ghraib, along with Haditha and Mahmoudiya, as proof of America's malign intentions in Iraq. Sgt Cardona's return "will give the insurgents another pretext for their insurgency," predicts Sadiq al-Mussawi, a political analyst. "And in this instance, many Iraqis will agree with them."

Even America's allies here bring up Abu Ghraib all the time, as proof of how little the U.S. understands Iraq. Last year, a European diplomat told me the infamous Abu Ghraib photos—some of them featuring Sgt Cardona—"did more damage to U.S. credibility in Iraq than a Cruise missile smashing into a kindergarden."

For many Iraqis, the punishment meted out to those found guilty of atrocities in the prison was too lenient; and Sgt. Cardona's return only confirmed suspicions that the U.S. military never took the case seriously. A top Iraqi military commander, trained and appointed to his high position by the U.S., once told me that the Americans should have made an example of all those found guilty by "cutting of their heads and displaying them at the entrance of the Green Zone." This, from a man who proudly labeled himself as a "friend of America."

The timing of Sgt Cardona's return could not have been worse. Anti-American sentiment in Iraq is at an all-time high, and opinion polls show that most Iraqis—regardless of sect or ethnicity—want the U.S. forces out of their country. Hatred for the U.S. military runs deep among the minority Sunnis, whose centuries-old grip on power ended with the fall of Saddam Hussein; Sunni resentment fuels the insurgency that has raged ever since.