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That they have decided to steer clear of Syria for now on account of the presence of a reliable air defence element says a lot about the main stream politicians outlook on future Defence and Security requirements.
I would hope it says far more about engaging in military intervention in local conflicts where today's bad guys turn out to be tomorrow's popularly elected government, and the conversely today's good guys become a now very well equipped jihadist faction. If you think the politicians are capable of sufficient joined up thinking to associated a deficient military capability with a current threat you probably haven't been paying attention. Military action today is a function of being re-elected or justifying cuts/increases to budgets.