Two RAF Tornado fighter planes flew into Iraqi airspace yesterday, taking Britain into combat operations as part of the US-led campaign of airstrikes.

They did so against the lingering legacy of the shambles that was our last Iraq war debacle. Most of us recall that all too well, and are understandably concerned as to where this latest military commitment might lead us. This newspaper was a vociferous opponent of the previous Iraq War. Today, we continue to be wary of political decisions that can so easily result in mission creep, dragging us deeper into the mire of a conflict that seemingly has no end.

This, of course, is not to say the brutality of the Islamic State (IS) militants should be ignored, or that every effort possible should not be brought to bear in defeating their widespread campaign of murder, torture, rape and persecution of minorities. Two things need to be understood in this regard. The first is that while Iraq and Syria are both in the grip of IS's terror, the situation militarily on the ground differs somewhat in each. While airstrikes might go some way to help halting IS advance in Iraq, their use in Syria is fraught with other complications. As our coverage today highlights, already moderate Syrian rebel leaders of the kind Washington is keen to support in fighting both IS and the regime of president Bashar al-Assad are expressing concern that the US is not co-ordinating the strikes with their forces on the ground. Failure to do so, they say, is not only resulting in civilian and "friendly" casualties but concentrating on hitting other Islamist groups, letting IS off the hook.

The second and most ­important thing that needs to be ensured is that any military campaign played out against jihadism in the Middle East is underpinned and operated in tandem with a long-term political strategy that will address the peaceful aspirations of so many ordinary people in the region.

That much, at least, we must surely realise by now from our previous bloody and protracted involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.