ISIS are a scourge on humanity; the UK must play its part in confronting this horror

Doing nothing is always an option. Sometimes it can even be a sensible policy. There is much to be said for modesty and restraint and an awareness that unforeseen consequences lurk around every corner. Even so, doing nothing has consequences too.

But the United Kingdom is not going to war in Iraq again. It is not going to war in Syria either. There are two parts to the battles against ISIS: an on-the-ground war and an in-the-air police action. We are, today’s vote in the Commons permitting, taking part in the latter element of the battle. A punitive action designed to make it easier for those doing the real fighting – the Kurds and others – to prevail.

So let’s not exaggerate the military significance of deploying half a dozen jets to hit ISIS. This is nothing like either Gulf War 1 or Gulf War 2. No-one is suggesting it should become anything like those conflicts either.