Read All About It

Odd headline tucked away on page A6 of the LA Times: "In a small U.S. victory, 8 Mideast states warn agains meddling in Iraq."

I know headline writers have space to fill, but what is all that stuff before the comma? Perhaps it was a small victory, perhaps it was a big one. Perhaps it was a defeat. I don't know, and I doubt the headline writer does either.