A problem that I see is that the general public, who are funding the operations and who are the people that the operations are to help, have no visibility whatsoever of what is being achieved. It's all very well saying 'fails to recognise the huge number of more vital and successful strikes in Iraq' but how can any successes be recognised if they are not discussed or promoted?
I'm afraid 'take our word for it' won't wash for very long with the press and those keeping a close eye on what seems to them to be an ineffectual Syrian air campaign that many opposed.
Compare the West's operational visibility to that of Russia, who have been, quite understandably, very pro-active with videos, press reports and regular official briefings.
Rightly or wrongly in these days of huge public debt many will be looking at the number of expensive weapons dropped to what has been achieved. To think otherwise would be very naïve.