Exactly. It reads like an attempt to validate a foregone conclusion using components of thorough investigation. The author threw in a few gratuitous statements about how "maybe MCAS wasn't the best idea" so that the they couldn't really be accused of blindly supporting Boeing.

It sounds like Lion Air were victims of not knowing the systems in place. Ethiopian Air didn't seem to have the altitude to figure things out in a timely manner.

This isn't to say that there's not corruption and other things going sideways in these investigations, but to lay blame squarely on the countries and the airlines is really disingenuous.