Today is the 78th anniversary of D-Day — when, in 1944, over 160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in France to liberate Europe from Nazi clutches. In his famous order of the day to the troops before they left, General Eisenhower called it the “Great Crusade” of our times. He added, “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.”
Seventy-eight years later, something similar can be said about Europe right now. It is in the midst of another war, in Ukraine, where Russia’s tyrannical regime has invaded a fledgling democracy. The threat is not to Ukraine alone, but to all the free nations of Europe — starting with the Baltic republics, Finland, Sweden, Moldova, and others along Russia’s periphery. Many have, rightly, called the war a symbol of the clash between democracy and autocracy — akin to one waged on the same European plain eight decades ago.
Though it’s disheartening that this same battle must be fought again, the occasion offers the chance to reflect on the continuity of American foreign policy, and the “America First” Right’s critique of it. They deride involvement in “foreign wars.” Many prominent conservatives — Tucker Carlson, J. D. Vance, and Thomas Massie — oppose aid and support for Ukraine. Any involvement, they believe, will lead to a “war with Russia,” while the money would be better spent at home.
PHOTOS: D-Day: June 6, 1944
In 1944, isolationist arguments against D-Day would not have held up. Germany had not attacked the United States like Japan did at Pearl Harbor before war was declared, yet defeating the Nazis was widely seen as important. Apart from Ike’s appeal to principle, the war was grounded in practical realities. Then and now, America recognized that an unfree Europe threatens our own security. Over 15 percent of our exports are sent directly to the EU, while much more is carried in ships through the Mediterranean and European waters. American jobs depend directly on this trade, which is viable only with European democracies. Moreover, a hostile power in Western Europe would rival America’s naval supremacy and harm our national security along the Eastern Seaboard. We cannot leave unsecured this front in the Atlantic, especially as we rival China in the Pacific. It requires ensuring a strong and democratic Europe, under NATO’s aegis. In material terms, Europe is both America’s marketplace and buffer zone.
Hence, we must be involved, to keep Europe free — at least for our self-interest. The populists can agree with that. Not every war is another Afghanistan or Iraq. Ukraine’s certainly isn’t.
Today, Jack Butler quoted Reagan’s famed D-Day Memorial Speech, about “the boys of Pointe Du Hoc.” Amid that tribute, Reagan reminded the world about the purpose of their sacrifice. It is worth repetition:
We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We’ve learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.
This is as true in 2022 for Russia as it was in 1944 for Germany. Much blood was spilled for the Great Crusade. Eight decades later, we must not let that sacrifice be in vain.