Cairo (CNN) — The controversial Qatari TV network Al Jazeera has bought Current TV, gaining access to millions more U.S. viewers and taking a major step forward in cracking the longed-for U.S. market.

The move is the network’s crowning achievement in the U.S. after years struggling to be accepted in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, when Al Jazeera was vilified by the Bush administration for broadcasting the notorious Osama bin Laden videos and other anti-American material.

But following the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq, U.S. relations with the channel improved. Recently Al Jazeera’s English-language channel has won several prestigious industry awards, as well as plaudits from senior U.S. policy-makers such as Hillary Clinton. [Link]