Perhaps it was just the way HS phrased his remark. Maybe "People in the UK don't seem to be engaged with this issue as much as other events nearer home or as much as they were with previous conflicts."
It's grabbing headlines, but the media don't have people like John Simpson on the ground whilst a city suffers shock and awe behind him. Many, I think, are confused by the complexities and uncertainties surrounding the whole thing. There seems to be a sense of hopelessness because the bad guys are seen to have achieved much despite fighting a war on everyone else. There is a fear that there is a large, cryptic movement in the UK sympathetic to the cause. You think of others...
It is possible that lots of people haven't got their heads around it and it's being presented to them differently. Just a thought.
P.S. Party Animal, you pressed submit whilst I ws still typing. I concur.