Whatever the outcome of Sue Gray’s investigation, we must draw a line under the questions being faced by the Government.
Those who want to project force in the Pacific must explain how it would be consistent with maintaining our strength at home and nearer abroad.
It is a litany of uncomfortable and inconvenient truths. Obsessing over these does little to spur progress.
My great fear is that isolationism on the left and right could take root. And not all interventions have been disastrous – let alone about imposing our values.
Britain has a moral responsibility to do something in Libya, having played a key role in creating the dangerous vacuum that is swallowing the country today.
Perhaps the answer is bound up with China – and our inability to focus on more than a single problem at once.
It should remain a basic principle that no Government commits British troops into a conflict zone before a full statement in the Commons.
Ministers believe that the present legal framework isn’t fit for purpose if prosecutions of returning terrorists are to be successful.
The Court of Appeal’s judgement in the Begum case is a reminder of wider issues – and the pledge in last December’s manifesto.
As the great eye of the Conservative Party swivels its gaze towards the Far East, it’s in danger of missing other threats that are closer to home.
They deserve more attention in our developing foreign and security policy – since the Middle East matters massively to global peace and prosperity.
We are well-placed to aid in de-escalating the crisis, and ultimately securing a diplomatic solution.
Traditional secular nationalist-driven Palestinian terrorism has been taking on a more religiously motivated dimension in recent years.