With respect, melmothtw, they can not be compared, The Spanish Civil War, and the mess of Bosnia.
Looking at the adage, you reap what you sow, the current situation in Syria, is, has, will be, fuelled by events that began with Iraqi, could be argued a lot earlier than that, but the West (US), moved in and under huge false pretences, duplicity, invaded a country, for regime change, and financial gain, and then raping said country of its resources. The PUBLIC, the illiterate masses, duped along the way.
Then Egypt, then Libya, now Syria, aspirations on Iran.
It has to stop.
It is tough to watch the carnage, it is tough to make decisions, but the decision to not get involved here, and join the US in its folly, is, IMO, entirely the correct one, for the UK.