WE all knew that US-led air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria were coming.

Even the IS terrorists themselves were able to prepare for the first missiles being fired, by dispersing their key assets away from anticipated target areas. But the strikes were necessary because to do nothing, in the face of the growing threat from IS, was unthinkable.

The key to extending the military campaign from Iraq to Syria was the involvement of several Arab states and that coalition will become increasingly important in the months and years ahead.

Air strikes can only be realistically expected to temporarily destabilise IS. They are an important part of the strategy but, ultimately, they will not be the solution.

Air strikes have not been successful in terms of evicting IS forces from Iraqi soil so the fundamental question is whether conditions can be reached to defeat IS on the ground now that the battle has spread to Syria.

It is a question which cannot be answered quickly.

The campaign to remove IS has begun in a reassuringly co-ordinated way. But the road to a successful conclusion is long and perilous, and keeping those Arab states on board will be imperative, as will the endorsement of the United Nations and the availability of well-trained and motivated ground force.

Beyond that, there is a much more difficult and lengthy campaign to be won – and that is a political challenge rather than a military one.

Another threat to world peace will inevitably emerge unless the right conditions are created to persuade Sunni tribes to reject the brutality and narrow vision of whatever a defeated IS morphs into.

In the end, education and diplomacy will be more infinitely powerful than any weapon can ever be.