Joe Biden blocked Ben Wallace’s candidacy to head NATO “in part because he served as a British soldier in Northern Ireland”
- Ben Wallace had mounted a vigorous campaign to succeed Jens Stoltenberg
- The defense secretary withdrew from the race for the top NATO job last month.
Joe Biden thwarted Ben Wallace’s bid to head NATO in part because he served as a British soldier in Northern Ireland, it was claimed last night.
Allies of the defense secretary said they believed that was one reason the pro-Irish US president had not endorsed Wallace.
One said: ‘Biden wears his southern Irish roots on his sleeve and will know full well that Ben served in the British Army during the Troubles.
“He’s also not particularly pro-British, which we suspect was one of the reasons the president did not support his candidacy.”
The defense secretary had mounted a vigorous campaign to succeed Jens Stoltenberg, who was due to leave office this fall.
Joe Biden (pictured) thwarted Ben Wallace’s bid to head NATO in part because he served as a British soldier in Northern Ireland, it was claimed last night.
Mr Wallace completed two operational tours in Northern Ireland with the Scots Guards (pictured)
But Wallace, who was mentioned in dispatches after helping foil an IRA bomb plot in 1992, dropped out of the race last month.
It is now understood that he is considering running in the upcoming General Election as his current seat is affected by boundary changes.
Until now, the reasons Wallace did not get the NATO job have been attributed to the insistence of some EU members that, after Brexit, only a candidate from the European Union could lead NATO. A well-placed Conservative MP insisted that this was the main reason, as President Biden would side with the EU.
However, yesterday allies of Wallace, who completed two operational tours in Northern Ireland with the Scots Guards, raised the issue of Biden’s fiercely pro-Irish views.
On his visit to Ireland in April, Biden was accused of slighting the UK by failing to fly the Union Flag on his car while in Northern Ireland, but planting the Republic of Ireland flag on ‘The Beast’ when he was In the south.
The defense secretary had mounted a vigorous campaign to succeed Jens Stoltenberg, who was due to leave office this fall. But Mr. Wallace (pictured) withdrew from the race last month.
Conservative lawmakers have also said Wallace was easily the best qualified for the job, not least because he is credited with persuading Boris Johnson to back Ukraine so strongly when the Russians invaded last year.
A Tory MP said privately yesterday: ‘That was Ben’s doing. He made that call and got Boris on board.
A White House spokesman said yesterday that the suggestion that Wallace was blocked because of his military service in Northern Ireland was “100 percent false and not accurate.”
Wallace was not available for comment last night.
