So they should have realised the end game was not about Syria beforehand so they never got into this mess.
Well they did pretty well to stay out for as long as they did. By accident or, more likely, design, Assad, with Russian acquiescence, has brought the situation to a head, knowing full well that our media would peddle the story and remind our electorates and politicians of commitments and actions previously made regarding non-proliferation. The whole thing has an air of inevitability, like events in Sarajevo in 1914.
America backed down over Georgia in 2008 (and, pray tell, who was in charge then - ah yes, him), which only served to embolden Putin. Will they do it again?