The polite applause faded and NATO chief Mark Rutte arranged his papers neatly on the rostrum. It took him 62 seconds to get to the point.
The dark forces of oppression are on the march again, he said. We are Russias next target.
Ruttes speechin Berlin on December 11 was just the latest in an unprecedented series of warnings of direct conflict with Russia made in 2025 by senior European officials and intelligence agencies.
In February,Danish intelligencesaid Russia sees itself in conflict with the West and is preparing for a war against NATO; in June,Germanys top generalsaid an attack may come within four years; in November, his words were echoed by his Polish counterpart -- two days after German Defense MinisterBoris Pistoriussaid some military historians even believe we have already had our last summer of peace.
