“War is not so far away”

Eighty years are complemented today by the day of the Allied landings in Normandy, the famous D-Day, when 130,000 soldiers, mainly American, British and Canadian, landed on the coast and contributed, along with the Red Army effort on the Eastern Front, to the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. Few veterans of that landing remain, and those who make it will attend today’s celebrations along with leaders from around the world. That historic day is in the past. But rarely has this past been so present.

The images of the battles in Omaha and other coasts – the fire, the blood, the ruins and the dead – are no longer as distant as they seemed 20 or 30 years ago, writes the The country. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, war returned to Europe. These days, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, some of the last survivors of that heroic generation will be found on the shores of Normandy. They are all around 100, and it is likely that by the 90th anniversary they will be gone. Today they will take part in the ceremonies alongside the presidents of France Emmanuel Macron, USA Joe Biden and Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia, despite its significant contribution to the Allied victory in World War II, has not been invited because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Biden in Paris

President Joe Biden landed in Paris yesterday on a trip designed to underscore his commitment to US allies in Europe and contrast his vision for democracy with November’s presidential rival Donald Trump. Biden and Zelensky will also discuss developments in the war in Ukraine, as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan informed, who clarified that Biden’s statements will focus on the dangers of isolationism and “the need to stand up to dictators.”

Biden will refer to the period from World War II through the Cold War and the creation of the NATO alliance to today, “where we once again face war in Europe with NATO united to defend freedom and the national sovereignty of its members”. Sullivan also said Biden and Macron will discuss the possible use of about $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to bolster Ukraine’s effort to fend off the Russians.

Last time;

But even so, is this the last time? This is what Dominique Mouazi, author of the book “The Geopolitics of Emotion”, wonders with a double meaning. He refers to the age of the veterans but also to the dangers threatening the alliance between the United States and Europe, a partnership whose high point was June 6, 1944. Essentially he has the US election in mind: “It will still be of interest to Europe the United States if Donald Trump is elected president in November?’

On D-Day anniversaries, he explains, there is always discussion about the wars of each era. But never more than now. “War is back in Europe. For the first time, the past reminds us of the present and threatens to influence the future so much,” emphasizes Mouazi. “For now, the only young people dying for the cause of freedom are Ukrainians. What would happen tomorrow if the conflict widened?’