The first speech by NATO’s new secretary-general, Mark Rutte, on December 12 was ominous for more than one reason.

The obvious one was what Rutte explicitly wanted to tell us. He said we are “not yet at war but definitely no longer at peace.” He saw threats to our cherished global order everywhere: in Russia, in China, in North Korea, and in Iran. These threats were not abstract and far away but concrete and nearby: “They bring the front line to our front doors — even into our homes,” Rutte said. He was adamant that the geopolitical security threat was now greater than it had ever been. That was why he called upon us, citizens of the free West, to press our politicians to increase defense spending, even if that meant less health care and pensions.

What’s at stake, said Rutte, is nothing less than our freedom, our security, our way of life: “Without strong defense, there is no lasting security. And without security, there is no freedom for our children and grandchildren. No schools, no hospitals, no businesses. There is nothing,” he commented.