The Fickle Finger Of Fate & Vlad Mean All Bets Are Off In Syria

If gambling were contained to the industry that bore its name alone the world would be a far better place, but alas with a linear temporal existence we are all gamblers, none more so this week than Vladimir Putin who has staked us all in a game of brinksmanship against the US and ISIS, which leaves us only a slight movement of the fickle finger of fate away from losing far more than the few bucks we might at the crap tables in Vegas.

Spend some time writing about gambling and you very quickly grasp the concept that the entire planet is one big casino where the winners get power, money and influence, and the losers get hit by a bus on their way to work one morning. Chance, luck and the fickle finger of fate ™ all impact on our lives in a myriad of little ways encompassing both positive and negative instances that extend from you just missing the bus to the bus only just missing you.

Putin’s Biggest Gamble To Date?

• Russia launches airstrikes in Syria
• Americans at a loss for adequate response
• Can congressional deadlock be blamed?

Naturally then, despite this being a website dedicated to bringing you very latest in gambling news from around the world, the most up-to-date promotional offers available across the net and reviews of the very best gambling websites on the net, there is a temptation to write not just about the gambling industry per se, but about the pieces of luck, chance and good (or mis) fortune that beset both individuals and society as a whole in general. It is a temptation we are told to resist.

My powers of self-control, however, have waned this week, and with the boss some 4,000 miles away enjoying far better weather than we’re experiencing, I’m afraid I’m going to succumb to the yearning inside myself and let the fickle finger of fate dole out the consequences later on. Yes, that’s right, I’m going to eschew talk of casinos or poker, of bingo or sports wagers at
Bet365, I’m not even going to mention Donald Trump. No, today, today I’m going to talk about Syria.

The Bet On Democracy That Didn’t Win

The lamentable civil war in Syria (which is anything but civil) is a multi-way tug of war between President Assad’s regime of men in overly braided uniforms and unsuitable mustaches, against various groups of grubby looking men with a chanting fixation and slightly unkempt beards. Stemming out of the government’s crackdown on the western financed pro-democracy movement the war has spiraled out of control and that fickle finger of fate has seen to it that it continues to make little sense.

At the beginning Assad was an evil dictator with a jackbooted heel on the necks of his people, but America’s complete failure to bring stability, democracy and freedom to Iraq left a vacuum that was filled by the religious lunatics that run Islamic State (aka ISIS) who moved into Syria fighting for the establishment of a caliphate that would stretch across the whole of the middle east. It was at this point the Americans found themselves sat full square on the fickle finger of fate.

Instead of hitting back at the Assad regime for its crimes against its citizenry, the US then had to start bombing the enemies of Assad, ISIS, thus strengthening the position of the very man they were trying to get rid of. This is what happens when the fickle finger of fate gives you the finger. Of course if you’re Syrian gambling laws laid down by the international community would come to your aid, you’re going to be disappointed. Those laws haven’t brought aid, just the Russians.

The Wagers Of Vladimir Putin

Sucks for us to be the ball

Vladimir Putin, of course, has form. As a gambler he’s proven time and again he knows just how far to push his luck, ask anyone who lives in Crimea, and his use of Bush-era rhetoric to justify Russian airstrikes in Syria cut the legs from under the western alliance leaving them to complain about air traffic control and mutter about civilian casualties (as if they’ve caused none themselves). However this is a big gamble by Putin and Russia, involvement in the Middle East rarely produces winners.

Gaining influence in the region, and a lovely showcase for its latest Su-34 aircraft (aren’t they pwetty?) Russian strikes against ISIS targets are a huge gamble as they may well result in terrorist repercussions within Russia itself. The fickle finger of fate is just that, and whilst Russian involvement in Syria is a great win against the west, as the west itself has discovered, a win against ISIS is a little harder to achieve, and certainly isn’t going to be attained by air power alone.

Airstrikes Today, All Gone Tomorrow?

Now anyone who doesn’t think having Russian and Western aircraft bombing the same country at the same time in an uncoordinated macho manner, where neither side really wants to cooperate with the other because they both think they should be in charge, is dangerous should go away and have their head examined. Friendly fire incidents are a part of warfare and always have been, but just how friendly would it remain if it were a Russian on American encounter?

Worse still the Russians are now actively conducted air strikes against anti-Assad groups the Americans have trained, armed and financed. What happens when an American backed rebel group shoots down a Russian plane? What happens if they capture the pilot? As we’ve seen already, the fickle finger of fate has shifted alliances and allegiances, will it now beckon us toward World War III? If the odds on WWIII were listed on
Bet365 would they be getting higher or lower right now do you think?

America’s plan to install democracy across the Middle East has been a dismal failure, which isn’t surprising as its own efforts at democracy within the USA haven’t been all that successful either. Indeed the American congress’ fixation with itself and the slow motion siege warfare that Democrats and Republicans have allowed to grind them to a halt on most issues, is probably a large contributory factor to the Russian presence in Syria. In essence the Americans are too divided to respond adequately.

The Fickle Finger Of Fate Just A Fantasy?

The conspiracy theorists in Russian poker rooms would have you believe that the Americans were just looking for a way to drag Iran into a conflict that would destroy it, doing a favor for their friends the Saudis who are in direct competition with Iran in the oil business, of course according to them there is no fickle finger of fate at all but some master plan dreamed up by the Illuminati. The accuracy of this theory is probably no nearer the mark than the Democracy and Freedom excuse the west trots out.

The US has called Russian airstrikes “indiscriminate” which takes some big brass balls given their track record on bombing places, but it isn’t in a position to stop them, and if Russia can’t be stopped it’ll carry on (just ask the Ukrainians). The fickle finger of fate now forcing its way down America’s throat as it finds itself having to work with a) the dictator it wanted rid of, b) another dictator that it can’t control with threats, sanctions or military action and c) no idea of what to do next.

Putin however almost certainly does. His projection of Russian military power is notable, it’ll sell planes, bolster allies and annoy his enemies, and even if he does end up with ISIS terrorists running amok in Moscow that’ll just allow him to declare a state of emergency, become both President AND Prime Minister for life, and bite the tip of the fickle finger of fate before it manages to stuff itself up his nose. Putin is the gambler, it’s just a shame we all are the stake he’s put on the very shaky table that is Syria.