Be careful what you wish for. The Guardian's article on the army notes that we have withdrawn from Afghanistan, this may be the first year that the country has not waged conflict since 1914 (or 1707)...take your pick! A cautious Ministry of Defence has noted this vacation from war as a "strategic pause".
Usually when such interregnums occur, the next war caused by a geopolitical surprise or some enterprising ally, usually intervenes. The Guardian makes great play with the notion that a more multicultural Britain is less inclined to go to war, especially in majority Muslin countries. Their simplistic glee at this withdrawal shines faintly through the article. Yet, there is no evidence that this is the case(One could argue that increased immigration and trouble leads to support for quelling sources of terrorism: the theory behind Iraq).
Professor Richard English, a historian at St Andrews University who studies war and terrorism, said that although many British Muslims had been greatly concerned that their country was waging war in Muslim countries, Britain's war-weariness was a more complex and extensive phenomenon.
"It may be that multiculturalism is a grace note or a second melody in there – I'm not sure that it's the main thing," he said. Instead, he believes war-weariness is focused on Iraq and Afghanistan as a result of what he described as "the dodgy bill of goods" that led to the former and the uncertain achievements of the latter.
"The decision in the House of Commons about Syria was really a decision about Iraq, but a few years late," he said.
English added that war-weariness was a cyclical affair. "It is always easy between conflicts to forget how nasty they are, and this amnesia is one of our worst enemies.
We are tired of war for a while.