Uncomfortable reading indeed. Sadly, we are no better.
The 'whitewash theory' (and false news) that protects our VSOs and politicians alike has been in existence for years - Remember, we ran a huge empire on false news for centuries.
As for learning lessons?. Forget it! Just before I left, we were told that in contentious report writing, lessons were no longer to be learned, merely 'identified' .
Just my my personal opinion, of course.