More precisely, a victory for U.S.-sponsored television broadcasting in Iraq.  If you saw video of the bombing of Iraq’s parliament inside the Green Zone, it’s likely you were watching footage shot by Alhurra, America’s Arabic-language satellite news channel funded by the Bush Administration through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (where I used to work).

Alhurra has taken hits by opponents of America’s international broadcasting efforts and Middle East policies — the detractors are both abroad and at home.  But if pictures say a thousand words, Alhurra’s alert on-the-scene photography should easily win the argument, showing the need for a truthful news presence and alternative to Al Jazeera and its ilk. 

Here’s a screen shot and AP’s caption:

This photo taken from Alhurra TV via AP Television News shows victims of an explosion in the Iraqi parliament cafeteria in Baghdad’s Green Zone in Iraq today. A suspected suicide bomber blew himself up in the Iraqi parliament cafeteria killing at least eight people and wounding dozens in a stunning assault in the heart of the heavily fortified, U.S.-protected Green Zone. Television footage showed scenes of pandemonium inside the building at the moment of the attack.