SOPHIA TAREEN David Coleman Headley,the US federal governments key witness in the trial of Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana in the 2008 Mumbai attacks,testified today that he first started training more than a decade ago with the Laskhar-e-Toiba,which got assistance from Pakistans main intelligence agency ISI. The trial of Rana is being closely watched for what it might reveal about suspected links between the LeT and ISI,which has been under increased scrutiny since Osama bin Laden was killed near Islamabad. Headley is cooperating with prosecutors 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. Rana is accused of allowing Headley to use his Chicago-based immigration services business as a cover as he travelled to India. Headley,Ranas longtime friend from boarding school,told jurors Monday that he received weapons and leadership training with LeT beginning 2000 and it was his understanding that the militant outfit and the ISI coordinated with each other in general. He did not immediately give any specifics. When Lashkar leaders began talking about a possible attack in India,Headley said,he suggested that he get involved. I suggested that I change my name and make a new passport to make it easy to enter India undetected, Headley,born Daood Gilani,testified. Rana,50,has pleaded not guilty and his attorneys say their client was simply taken advantage of by his longtime friend. Headley and Rana,a Pakistani-born Canadian who has lived in Chicago for years,met at one of Pakistans most prestigious military boarding schools and stayed in touch as adults. Defense attorney Charles Swift told jurors during opening statements that Headley,a Pakistani-American,was a manipulative man who balanced multiple lives,including working for the LeT,Pakistani intelligence and the US 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. But Assistant US Attorney Sarah Steicker disputed this,saying Rana knew of the plans and had provided Headley a cover to travel through India. 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 told jurors. 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 didnt 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. Headley reached a plea deal with prosecutors in the terrorism case in exchange for avoiding the death penalty and avoiding extradition. Hes also been an informant for the DEA after a drug conviction. Rana is the seventh name on the indictment,and the only defendant in custody. Among the six others charged in absentia are Major Iqbal and Sajid Mir,allegedly another LeT supervisor who also handled Headley.
