LES RUSSES ARRIVENT! LES RUSSES ARRIVENT! France Invites Russia to D-Day Anniversary Events and Allies Are Naturally Upset.

France has decided that Western allies shouldn’t let a little old thing like a war in Europe prevent the 80th-anniversary party for the D-Day landings from including the Russians.

Russians were not involved in the D-Day landings. In fact, Russia helped start World War II when its alliance with Nazi Germany gave Hitler a free hand in Western Europe to attack Poland.

All water under the bridge, right? We were “allies” then even when Russian troops raped their way across Germany on the road to Berlin and afterward.

So leaving Russia out of the 80th anniversary commemoration of D-Day would have been bad form. And for French diplomacy, “form” always trumps the real world.

Officials from the U.S., the United Kingdom, and two other NATO allies expressed their chagrin at the invite.

Protocol issues, the symbolism of inviting Russians, and questions about what sort of “diplomatic engagement” would be required were the kinds of queries being asked by the Allies.

“We would defer to the government of France, which organizes the commemoration at Normandy,” a White House official said. “But perhaps this will remind the Russians that they actually fought real Nazis once, not imaginary ones in Ukraine.”

Touché.

Oceania has never been at war with Omaha Beach.  Though I’m shocked that France has finally found another nation to surrender to.