Brandon Mayfield has been released from custody. Although he remains a material witness, it does not appear that he will be charged with a crime at this point. (Original post.)
US forces are pulling out of Karbala. I’ve only seen this article on the NY Times, and am surprised no one else is reporting on it. Relevant paragraphs:
Colonel Bishop said the withdrawal was intended to “allow time for the political process to go forward.” He declined to give details on that process, and it was not immediately clear what negotiations were taking place.
American officials have been pressuring the Shiite religious establishment to wrest a surrender from the militia’s leader, the cleric Moktada al-Sadr, but the senior clerics have so far failed to do so.
Colonel Bishop said the withdrawal of forces from the Mukhaiyam Mosque did not amount to a cease-fire. His battalion will continue to run regular patrols into the city, he said, and “will continue to respond to any attacks against Iraqi security forces.”
(Original post.)
Despite the understandable, but nonsense, comments from Mayfield’s family, the system worked in his case. After intial leads from the Spanish, Mayfield was placed under surveillance. Because of leaks in that investigation, the authorities concluded that immediate arrest on the material witness warrant was necessary because of a risk of flight. Subsequent to that arrest, the evidence indicated that the initial leads from the Spanish were faulty and that Mayfield was no longer a suspect in the Madrid bombings.
We arrest alleged murderers, rapists and other violent criminals on weaker leads than the Mayfield case. Although many Muslims will whine and complain that an innocent man was arrested for no reason, the entire justice system will fail if authorities must wait for proof beyond a reasonable doubt before an arrest. In fact, Mayfield was arrest on probable cause which existed at the time of the arrest. Upon a detention hearing, a determination is made whether further cause mandates holding the arrestee. In this case, apparently there was no further cause, and therefore, Mayfield was released.
Mayfield was treated no differently than any other suspect of a major crime. Unfortunately, that’s not how Islamist organizations like CAIR will spin it.
I have to say, I still have reservations about the Mayfield case. According to Spanish authorities, they were surprised Mayfield was picked-up based on the fingerprint, as their records matched it to an Algerian. I do believe that the print was sufficient evidence to detain somebody, my concern is that they detained an unrelated individual. I’m curious to see how the case plays out over the next few months.
I do believe the disparity in the application of the law is getting more pronounced. Leave aside that we supported Chalabi, a convicted felon in Jordan, you can argue convincingly there was some politics involved. However, his aide Asar Karim, was indicted for spying for the Iranians by us, and we let him work in Iraq. I do believe prosecutors should have latitude in determining when and how to prosecute, but that privilege works because the legal system is transparent and people have trust in it. I may focus on Muslims, but my larger concern is preserving that trust in the legal system.