The Limits of Memory?

While I disagree that we were "distracted" from Afghanistan by the Iraq War (I think Iraq was a far more important theater than Afghanistan where our options for success were limited by Pakistan sanctuaries and support for jihadis), this is about right in regard to the Washington Post "scoop" on so-called lies:

Did American civilian and military leaders attempt at times to portray overly positive views of the situation in Afghanistan? Of course. The phenomenon of spin is not new, nor is it confined to wars. It is a deplorable but inevitable element of our social and political discourse about almost anything.

But did American leaders systematically lie to the American people about the situation in Afghanistan, conceal from them the problems we were facing there and even the problems our mistakes were causing, or otherwise prevent them from understanding what was really going on? Absolutely not. ...

Americans knew about the problems and mistakes as they occurred, even if we have now forgotten that we did.

I saw it as spin that did not hide the underlying reports, and didn't see lies exposed as much as an attempt to lose the once-"good war."

NOTE: I added a link about my disagreement with the "distracted" charge.