Propaganda and those who pay for it...

If you didn't see this already, a reporter was shot and killed in Iraq. While this is certainly tragic, it is not unheard of in a combat zone (which, contrary to some opinions, Iraq still is). My question about this incident is this: what is the U.S. government doing spending $62 million on a news service in Iraq? From the article:

"The al-Hurra network, set up with a $62m grant from US Congress to rival stations like al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya, was launched with the aim of promoting democracy and winning over public opinion in the Arab world to the US point of view. But some Muslim clerics have denounced its output as propaganda."

Of course it's propaganda! "Winning over public opinion in the Arab world to the US point of view" could very well be the definition of propaganda. Isn't a democracy "of the people, by the people, and for the people", not "of the outside powerful influence, by the outside powerful influence, and for the furtherance of the outside powerful influence"?