David Coleman Headley testified Monday at the trial of Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana, who is accused of giving Headley cover when Headley scouted sites in Mumbai for the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Headley's testimony is being closely watched for what it might reveal about suspected links between Lashkar and Pakistan's intelligence agency, which has been under scrutiny since Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces on May 2 outside Islamabad.
Headley, who spent part of his youth living in Philadelphia, says he received training in Pakistan from Lashkar and that Pakistan's intelligence agency provided assistance to Lashkar. He didn't immediately give any specifics.
Earlier Monday, federal prosecutors told jurors that Rana was not duped when he provided cover for Headley and instead knew exactly what he was getting into when he helped with the plot.
During opening statements, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker described Headley as Rana's friend from boarding school. Headley is considered the trial's key witness and is cooperating with the government after pleading guilty to taking photos and videos of targets in Mumbai before the rampage that killed 160 people including six Americans over three days.
Though Streicker did not give any indication that the trial would give any clues about the global fight against terrorism, Headley's testimony is of particular interest because he may discuss allegations that Pakistan's government knew - or possibly helped plan - the Mumbai attack blamed on the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Rana, 50, has pleaded not guilty and his attorneys say their client was simply taken advantage of by his longtime friend and didn't know what was in store. Headley and Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian who has lived in Chicago for years, met at one of Pakistan's most prestigious military boarding schools and stayed in touch as adults.
Defense attorney Charles Swift told jurors on Monday that Headley, a Pakistani-American, was a "manipulative man" who "balanced multiple lives" including working for Laskhar-e-Taiba, Pakistani intelligence and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration at the same time.
"David Headley ... has been manipulating people for years. Dr. Rana is by far and away not the first," Swift said during opening statements.
But Steicker said Rana was not duped and knew of the plans. She said Rana provided cover for Headley and led him to pose as a representative for his Chicago-based immigration business. She also said Rana knew and supported a separate plot that never happened against a Danish newspaper that had printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad and that Rana and Headley had talked about at least four other plots. She gave no further details.
"The defendant knew all too well that when Headley travels to a foreign country, people may die," Streicker said.
Streicker said the government will show jurors evidence including emails between Headley and Rana that were written in code. She said Headley considered Rana "his best friend in the world."
"The defendant didn't carry a gun or throw a grenade. In a complicated and sophisticated plot, not every player carries a weapon. People like the defendant who provide support are just as critical to the success," Streicker said.
Attention to Rana's trial has increased in recent weeks, especially amid questions about whether Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, known as the ISI, had knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts. Security has been tightened, with more armed guards and a metal detector outside the courtroom in downtown Chicago, and many reporters from Denmark and India are covering the proceedings.
"The trial has the potential to be an irritant and already has been in what's happening in the U.S.-Pakistani relationship," said Daniel Markey, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "Given the Indian media attention, it'll stoke Indian concern about what Pakistan has been up to."
Rana is the seventh name on the indictment, and the only defendant in custody. Among the six others charged in absentia is "Major Iqbal" and Sajid Mir, allegedly another Lashkar-e-Taiba supervisor who also "handled" Headley.
Some experts are doubtful the trial will reveal much new. For one, federal prosecutors may work hard to keep any sensitive information from surfacing in the courtroom, and Headley's credibility has been under question.
Headley, born Daood Gilani, reached a plea deal with prosecutors in the terrorism case in exchange for avoiding the death penalty and avoiding extradition. He's also been an informant for the DEA after a drug conviction.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kocoras, who has worked on terrorism cases, said he was skeptical the trial would offer much more.
"I don't anticipate that the prosecutors will delve into deeper geopolitical issues," he said. "The prosecution generally approaches that in a formulaic way without overly appealing to emotion."
During last week's jury selection, Rana's attorneys had said they wanted a jury that wouldn't be biased against their client, who is Muslim. Questions of potential jurors in open court focused on their views on Islam, terrorism, and U.S. citizenship.
About half a dozen were dismissed after admitting to having biases against Muslims or saying they were afraid to be involved in a terrorism case. According to the judge, one juror had written on his questionnaire, "Terrorists are mainly Muslims, or am I wrong?"
The jury of 12 people is mostly minorities and women. Six alternates were also chosen for the trial that U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber said would last about a month.
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Associated Press writer Eileen Sullivan contributed to this report.
