Morally indefensible? No. Strategically inexplicable? Yes given that the enemy we're fighting has an area of operations spanning 2 countries, and by stopping at the border it makes achieving the end state, such as it is, that little bit harder when the enemy are waving from the other side of a line on the map that only we recognise.
Still, even if we do go into Syria, to what effect? Another few dozen technicals, check points and strong points destroyed with expensive ironmongery by a handful of ageing jets? I guess the best that can be said for staying out of Syria is saving on the cost of the missions themselves that are risky but contribute little to an undefined strategy.
Last edited by Melchett01; 7th Nov 2015 at 23:22.