Bradley Manning's trial begins three years after arrest Private First Class Bradley Manning told a military judge in February that he leaked classified material to expose the American military's "bloodlust." Picture: Patrick Semansky Source: AP US Army Private First Class Bradley Manning faced life in prison as his trial began Monday, three years after he was charged with providing highly-sensitive material to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. It is the biggest leak of classified information in US history. Pt. Manning, a 25-year-old former intelligence analyst, has admitted to giving troves of information to WikiLeaks, but military prosecutors want to prove Manning aided the enemy, which carries a potential life sentence. They said they will present evidence that former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden asked for and received information WikiLeaks published. "This is a case of about what happens when arrogance meets access to sensitive information," Capt. Joe Morrow said in his opening statement. Manning's supporters hail him as a whistleblowing hero and political prisoner. Others say he is a traitor who endangered lives and national security. "This, your honor, this is a case about a soldier who systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of documents from classified databases and then dumped that information on to the Internet into the hands of the enemy," Cpt. Morrow said. Defence attorney David Coombs said Manning was "young, naive, but good-intentioned." Mr Coombs said Pt. Manning selectively leaked material he believed could make the world a better place, mentioning an unclassified video of a 2007 US Apache helicopter attack that killed civilians, including a Reuters photographer. US Army Private Bradley Manning will go on trial over leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks. He believed this information showed how we value human life. He was troubled by that. He believed that if the American public saw it, they too would be troubled," Mr Coombs said. Manning has said he did not believe the information would harm the US. Mr Coombs did not address whether Osama bin Laden ever saw any of the material Pt. Manning leaked. Manning, a slightly built soldier, sat calmly in the courtroom in his dark green dress uniform as the trial began. He chose to have his court-martial heard by a judge instead of a jury. It is expected to run all summer. In February, Pt. Manning told military judge Army Colonel Denise Lind he leaked the material to expose the American military's "bloodlust" and disregard for human life in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he did not believe the information would harm the US and he wanted to start a debate on the role of the military and foreign policy. The judge accepted his guilty plea to reduced charges for about half of the alleged offences, but prosecutors did not did not and moved forward with a court-martial on charges including violations of the Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Manning's supporters hail him as a whistleblowing hero and a political prisoner. Others view him as a traitor. Miltary Police guard a door to the courthouse during the first day of the United States vs. Pfc. Bradley E. Manning trial in Fort Meade, Maryland. Picture: Brendan Smialowski About 20 Manning supporters demonstrated in the rain outside the visitor gate at Fort Meade. They waved signs reading "free Bradley Manning" and "protect the truth" while chanting "What do want? Free Bradley. When do we want it? Now. US officials have said the more than 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and State Department cables sent to WikiLeaks endangered lives and national security. The material WikiLeaks began publishing in 2010 documented complaints of Iraqi detainee abuses; a US tally of civilian deaths in Iraq; and America's weak support for the government of Tunisia - a disclosure Manning supporters said encouraged the popular uprising that ousted the Tunisian president in 2011 and helped trigger the Middle Eastern pro-democracy uprisings known as the Arab Spring. Last month, the government agreed to accept Pt. Manning's guilty plea for a lesser version of one count, involving a single diplomatic cable summarising US embassy discussions with Icelandic officials about the country's financial troubles. Manning also acknowledged sending WikiLeaks unclassified video of a 2007 US Apache helicopter attack that killed civilians, including a Reuters photographer. An internal military investigation concluded the troops reasonably mistook the camera equipment for weapons; WikiLeaks dubbed the video "Collateral Murder." Activists Cornel West and Medea Benjamin talk during a break in the first day of the United States vs. Pfc. Bradley E. Manning trial. The release of the cables and video embarrassed the US and its allies. The Obama administration has said it threatened valuable military and diplomatic sources and strained America's relations with other governments, but the specific amount of damage hasn't been publicly revealed and probably won't be during the trial. Colonel Lind ruled the extent of any damage is irrelevant. Defence attorney David Coombs contends it was minimal. Much of the evidence is classified, which means large portions of the trial are likely to be closed to reporters and the public. Lead prosecutor Major Ashden Fein told Colonel Lind in February that more than half of the government's 141 anticipated witnesses would testify about classified information, which would close up to 30 per cent of the trial. The judge tested alternatives to closing the courtroom, such as using code words and unclassified summaries, but Colonel Lind said it didn't work. Prosecutors revealed plans earlier this year to call a member of the Navy SEAL team that raided bin Laden's compound in 2011. He was to testify in closed court, in disguise, that he found digital evidence indicating the al-Qaida leader saw some of the material Manning released. He will likely be scratched, though, if Colonel Lind accepts an agreement the lawyers announced last month to offer the bin Laden evidence without the testimony. The court-martial's high degree of secrecy, including refusals to promptly release even routine filings and rulings, has fueled protests by Manning supporters. The Bradley Manning Support Network says it has raised more than US$1.1 million ($1.13 million) for his defence and public outreach. Supporters include documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, musician Graham Nash, actor John Cusack and Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg.