As Bradley Manning Heads to Court, World Focus on Government Secrecy

Awkward for the administration

The slight, pallid figure of Bradley Manning was barely visible in a hearing room filled with uniformed military lawyers, brisk government officials and a gaggle of his supporters as his court martial opened this week.

His trial, too, at Fort Meade, a sprawling defence base housing the US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, the electronic eavesdropping body, north of Washington, is taking place largely off the radar.