NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is not a man given to hyperbole. To the contrary, the former longtime Dutch prime minister is known for being an even-keeled and unflappable politician. So it’s noteworthy that, in speaking to a European audience last week in Munich, Rutte told them that war with Russia is imminent.
Rutte sounded like a man trying to grab his audience by their lapels, look straight into their eyes and make sure they got the message. “Too many are quietly complacent and too many don’t feel the urgency,” he warned. “Too many believe that time is on our side. It is not.”
The picture Rutte painted was chilling. “Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured. Imagine it, a conflict reaching every home, every workplace, destruction, mass mobilization, millions displaced, widespread suffering and extreme losses.”