The war was lost, not by the military, but by the political class. The military objectives were accomplished despite the defacto political surrender. The failure, and loss, in quantitative terms was political. The two parts are not divisible, but can be measured individually. As a whole, the "war" was a loss. Politically, it was a surrender and a defeat. A suicide. Militarily, by qualitative and quantitative measures, it was a victory. Hollow, yes. But, still a victory.
No, they weren't. You can't divorce "military objectives" from "political objectives." The one is meaningless without the other.