Experience tells us that unless you get civil institutions and public services up and running quickly after a conflict ends, you can end up with a failed state. So I asked the Secretary of State for Defence what his department taking to make sure that doesn't happen in Syria once Daesh have been driven out.
Mr Fallon responded: "Following the Syria conference held in London in February, there is now a stabilisation plan for Syria that we are working to deliver with our international partners. We are already working with existing Syrian institutions to try and restore stability, and we are working with communities on local government and civil defence, but stabilisation in Syria depends on a sustainable peace deal that protects communities from attack either by Daesh or by the regime. We are supporting that peace deal through the International Syria Support Group."