Chelsea Manning's leaks were crucial to the Arab world, here's why

Barack Obama has commuted the sentence of prominent whistleblower Chelsea Manning, as one of his last acts as the U.S. president.

Instead of serving her full 35 year prison sentence, Manning will be released in May, after nearly seven years behind bars. Rights activists and many throughout the world are hailing it as a victory for freedom of information. 

The leaks by Manning, a former U.S. army soldier, revealed a lot about the deep-state politics and nation meddling that have played a prominent role in American foreign policy. 

When it comes to the Arab world, the documents and information made public by Manning gave credence to what many in the region had been pointing to for years: the official American stance may be to promote "freedom, democracy and human rights," but the reality is far removed from this slogan.

Here's a look at some of the most significant revelations Manning's leaks brought to the Arab world.

The leaked footage revealed the horrific truth behind an American Apache helicopter attack in Iraq. Leaving around a dozen civilians dead – including two Reuters journalists – the footage also revealed the disturbing manner in which soldiers decided to attack.

It appeared that the objective was to shoot, and ask questions later. If civilians looked suspicious, it was better to attack and worry about whether or not they were a threat in the aftermath.

But, this was only one example. Other documents in the leak revealed many more incidents of indiscriminate killing by U.S. troops. In Iraq alone, at least 15,000 civilian deaths were covered up by the Pentagon.

The U.S. turned a blind eye to torture taking place in Iraq after it invaded, and the Pentagon told concerned generals to ignore it. At the time, the U.S. government was adamantly denying that any form of torture was going on.

But, even more disturbingly, Manning's leaks revealed that the FBI also trained some Egyptians on torture methods. The U.S. covered this up by saying it was "human rights" education.

In Tunisia, prior to the country's revolution, the U.S. was well aware of the ruling elite's corruption. But, it continued to support and back the government anyway.

Tunisia was seen as a pillar of American policy in North Africa, despite the "Mafia-like" style of the country's leaders.  

This behavior was the norm for the U.S. throughout the region and the world.

It may have done little to seriously change U.S. policy in the short term, but Manning's efforts made ordinary Americans more aware of their country's human rights abuses and aggressive behavior throughout the world.

The documents she leaked provided tangible evidence, revealing the dark secrets the "land of the free" wanted to keep hidden. For making this information public, Manning paid a high price. 

At least now, Obama has taken a small step in support of her efforts to encourage greater freedom and transparency.