Yes, but special pleading waxes kindly when describing Johnston's post war writings. Conjuration in service of dissimulation is another way of describing Johnston's personal explanation of the Vicksburg Campaign (of course, in my opinion). That Johnston quietly inserted the word "The" before "Mississippi" several times in his postwar writings about the Vicksburg Campaign (when during the war his dispatches actually did not contain "The") shows the level of obfuscation Johnston stooped to in order to shift blame on Pemberton. And that's just one of many examples.
That Pemberton had to spend time explaining such deceitful nuances committed by Johnston is one reason why Pemberton's unfinished manuscript is difficult to read.
The other, of course, is that it remains a rough draft - Pemberton having passed away before coming close to refining it. As a consequence, it makes for a difficult read, and feels at times like reading a modern work of stream - of - consciousness where important issues can appear perfunctory. But such is not the case, and it is left to the reader to work through his writings like a puzzle.
And most readers - perhaps some historians even - don't like to do that. Nonetheless, the discovery of his manuscript has opened many eyes to a better interpretation of the Campaign. And as more and more people work through the puzzle, it will only bring an increased understanding of the Campaign and, perhaps, finally bring a balance to the issues so thoroughly wrecked by Johnston.