When it comes to asking mps to authorise bombing against Islamic State (IS) in Syria, the British government has decided that discretion trumps valour-at least for now. The official position is that Britain is still keen to do its bit. The defence secretary, Michael Fallon, argues that, as IS does not recognise the border between Syria and Iraq (where British Tornado jets are already in action), there is an "inescapable logic" to going after the group in both countries. It is a logic that appears to have escaped so many mps that David Cameron has decided to postpone a vote. The prime minister's caution, if not admirable, is understandable. He cannot afford a repeat of the debacle of August 2013, when he lost a vote to sanction air strikes on the Assad regime after its use of chemical weapons. Until recently, Mr Cameron was confident that he could get parliamentary backing before Christmas. But that depended on limiting to a handful the number of rebels on his own side (the government's working majority is just 17), while relying on around 40 Labour mps to defy their new left-wing leader, Jeremy Corbyn, which would give the endeavour the extra authority of cross-party support.
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