"Criticism as the ultimate value. Try and imagine a personal relationship based on this idea. "
In a personal relationship, if someone had LIED to go and get something, for unfounded reasons, just to further an agenda, and I called them on it....yeah I think you could call that "criticism".
And it would be expected of me, especially if I had any morals.
And their morals were flawed.
Forget it costing billions of dollars and a lot of dead bodies.
And an impossible situation to get out of without it costing MORE money and MORE dead bodies.
Guess you put up with a lot, eh?