Maybe some exaggeration, but worth the read.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfr...dkt_nbr=010502lpkih9

NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday warned allies to prepare for another world war, saying Europe is "Russia’s next target."

Speaking at a security event in Berlin, the secretary general painted a stark picture of the continent's future, saying Russia could be ready to use force against NATO "within five years" and urging Europeans to "shift to a wartime mindset."

He said allies must prepare for conflict on the scale their "grandparents or great-grandparents endured," including mass mobilization and widespread destruction.

Rutte argued that Moscow’s full-scale war on Ukraine, backed by Chinese technology and Iranian and North Korean arms, proves the Kremlin is rebuilding an "empire" and sees free European societies as a threat.

He warned that if Russian President Vladimir Putin crushes Ukraine and reaches NATO's borders, alliance members would face “a truly gargantuan” surge in defense costs and a far higher risk of direct attack.

Rutte hailed this year's NATO summit in The Hague, where leaders agreed to drive total defense-related spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 — including 3.5% on core military outlays, far above the long-standing 2% benchmark.

Germany alone is planning to reach 3.5% by 2029, which Rutte called "staggering," and he pressed other European governments to follow.

At the same time, NATO is launching new operations such as "Eastern Sentry" and "Baltic Sentry" to reinforce the alliance's eastern flank and protect critical infrastructure after Russian drones violated Polish airspace and undersea cables were cut in the Baltic.

Rutte also touted a NATO program known as PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List), which funnels U.S.-made Patriot missiles and other air-defense munitions to Ukraine using allied money.

More than two-thirds of member states have signed on, with around $4 billion pledged so far.

But while the NATO chief insists "the time for action is now," his rhetoric will raise eyebrows among conservatives who see Europe’s elites again reaching for American firepower while asking voters at home to accept higher taxes, inflation and what Rutte openly calls "emergency budgets."

In his speech, he acknowledged that such a buildup would mean painful trade-offs across domestic programs.

In February, Rutte tried to reassure Washington that Europe is finally shouldering more of the burden and he gave credit to President Donald Trump.

The secretary-general noted it was the president, "when he was Trump 45 and now Trump 47," who consistently demanded that European allies and Canada spend more on defense, and argued that the new 5% target is exactly what Trump has been asking for since his first term.

Rutte also conceded in other Berlin remarks that "President Trump wants to end the bloodshed now, and he’s the only one who can get Putin to the negotiating table," effectively acknowledging that any serious peace push will have to run through Washington and Trump’s White House.

They WANT war with Russia, it's so insane.

Trump is right saying that NATO is a Cold War relic and needs to go away.

quote:

In February, Rutte tried to reassure Washington that Europe is finally shouldering more of the burden and he gave credit to President Donald Trump.

The secretary-general noted it was the president, "when he was Trump 45 and now Trump 47," who consistently demanded that European allies and Canada spend more on defense, and argued that the new 5% target is exactly what Trump has been asking for since his first term.

Well, that part is good...

But I think the US should withdraw from NATO.

It's time for us to realize that Europe, under the EU and with mass migration is not going to be a reliable ally or share our values.

I thought Russia was close to tapped out in Ukraine. Do they have resources for all of Europe, besides nuclear?

quote:

In February, Rutte tried to reassure Washington that Europe is finally shouldering more of the burden and he gave credit to President Donald Trump.

The secretary-general noted it was the president, "when he was Trump 45 and now Trump 47," who consistently demanded that European allies and Canada spend more on defense, and argued that the new 5% target is exactly what Trump has been asking for since his first term.

I'm very interested in comparing NATO members' % of GDP spending on military in June '26 (i.e. 100% Trump) vs current June '25 (i.e. still Biden's lackluster influence).

I had Google AI pull up the June '25 numbers and compare to June '16 numbers. NATO hit 2.76% combined which up up from 2.4% combined. More importantly, in 2016 only 5 of 32 members were meeting 2% threshold and now it's 26 of 32 members. Italy, Canada, and Spain have approx 0% increase and remain below 2%.

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NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday warned allies to prepare for another world war, saying Europe is "Russia’s next target."

Huh?
They can't hardly get what they want in the Donbas, that's a serious reach right there.

We bailed them out in two world wars and a cold war last century.
And they still hate us.

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:

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NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday warned allies to prepare for another world war, saying Europe is "Russia’s next target."

Huh?
They can't hardly get what they want in the Donbas, that's a serious reach right there.

NATO is like HR, they need to act like nothing will work unless they are involved, it's all to justify his job and NATO's existence.

It really should have been dissolved with the dissolution of the USSR

Assuming any of this is valid, the wild card in all of this could be the (immigrant and invading) Muslims. My point being, it likely wouldn't take much to topple European democracies with them in the mix.

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the wild card in all of this could be the (immigrant and invading) Muslims. My point being, it likely wouldn't take much to topple European democracies with them in the mix.

The UK, on it's present trajectory, will be Muslim majority by 2050 or so. Muslims don't believe in democracy, at least not once they become the majority.

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NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday warned allies to prepare for another world war, saying Europe is "Russia’s next target."

Anyone that comes to this conclusion apparently isn't even smart enough to understand why Russia 'annexed' Crimea in the first place back in 2014...Not even a clue! Russia has NO desires on greater Europe!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nhracecraft,

That guy is clearly an idiot.
He can go hug a Rutte.

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NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday warned allies to prepare for another world war, saying Europe is "Russia’s next target."

For all I care, Russia can have them. But they can't even conquer Ukraine.

Kurt Schlichter: There’s Nothing Funnier Than Fussy, Furious Euroweenies

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Hearing disturbingly feminine, Somali corruption-curious Minnesota governor Tim Walz complaining that, because of Donald Trump, people are driving by his house shouting “Retard!” should’ve been the funniest thing that happened over the last few news cycles, but our European friends have done it one better. Actually, they’re not our friends. They’re annoying layabouts who do nothing but whine and complain as they feed off the corpse of the civilization they inherited like cultural trust fund babies. They have gotten very upset because Donald Trump’s national security strategy accurately recognizes that Europe is unable to defend itself and is increasingly unworthy of us squandering more time, blood, and treasure to do it for them. So, they’re lashing out, threatening to be responsible for their own defense.

Yeah, that’ll show us. Throw us in that briar patch, Horst. There aren’t enough “LOLs” on the Internet for how funny it is to see you stomping your feet because we’re done picking up the check.

Seems like they should pay more attention to chicom and things happening in the asian theatre. Seems like daily provocations including the contentious build-ups (man made islands in disputed territories).

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Originally posted by sourdough44:
I thought Russia was close to tapped out in Ukraine. Do they have resources for all of Europe, besides nuclear?

This is my thought as well, if Russia been bogged down in Ukraine for the last few years why would anyone think they're prepared to invade all of Europe unless they go nuclear. Didn't they get booted out of Afghanistan a couple decades ago????

The USA has protected Europe from itself for 80 years, that's enough. The true enemies of Europe are not Russia, but the millions of invaders that have been encouraged by the Euro leaders to relocate from North Africa, MidEast, and their former colonies.

Trump is re-asserting the original meaning of the Monroe Doctrine: Europe stay out of the Western Hemisphere and the USA will stay out of your squabbles. The Teddy Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine was/is the USA will intervene in Western Hemisphere internal issues when it directly affects American interests. Trump is further endorsing that concept (i.e. "drug runner interdiction" against narco-states in South America).

The ChiComs are on a naval buildup program that is similar to the Great Britain vs Imperial Germany naval arms race of the early 1900s. That is what is drawing the USA attention away from Europe and toward the Pacific/Asia area.

Get your act together Europe, or you won't have a westernized Europe, but an Islamic Caliphate.

The UK can no longer be considered our friend and DJT knows it.

makes one wonder how good it would be if Big Pharma and the Military Industrial Complex did not control everything,,,

Who's going to fight Rutte's War? There were protests in Germany over legislation to Register for service.

At the end of the day if Europe wants to see the cause of their problem, just look in the mirror.

The KGB boss will exploit the weakness to his advantage knowing that most of Europe is emasculated by their own stupidity - the most notable exception is Italy.