Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has been fired for his top job as Secretary General of NATO. Credit: CAROLYNE CHIA/REUTERS
The EU is trying to “push” the UK out of NATO leadership, former military leaders warn after Ben Wallace was sacked to the alliance's top post.
Former army chiefs say European leaders will regret moving against a defense minister and that their motives should be “conceived with deep suspicion”.
Emmanuel Macron leads the prosecution to try to ensure that the next secretary general of the military group is chosen from an EU member state .
Mr. Wallace, who was considered the leader, was forced to withdraw from this week's race after Joe Biden said he would not support his candidacy.
Initially, the US president was supposed to have supported Mette Frederiksen, the Socialist Prime Minister of Denmark, who is backed by France and Germany. /> Ben Wallace (front right) was forced to withdraw from this week's race after Joe Biden said he would not support him. Photo: SIMON WOHLFAHRT/AFP
But she clearly failed to impress him, and now it looks like Jens Stoltenberg, the current general secretary, will postpone his resignation for a year.
Major General Julian Thompson, who led the British troops in the Falklands, warned the European allies that they would regret that they refused Mr. Wallace for political reasons.
“He served in the army, was the secretary of defense, so he knows defense behind the scenes and therefore highly qualified,” he told The Telegraph. It's amazing when you think that we were in the lead in Ukraine, demonstrating real leadership.
“And that's what we need – some positive thinking, not all this negativity.”
The former army commander said he was “frankly surprised by Biden” for siding with the EU countries, who have a “completely different agenda” for the future of NATO.
“The EU should be greeted with deep suspicion. They are trying to build a state, and one way to do this is to create their own defense organization,” he said.
“They can’t be trusted at all, schemers who want to oust us and manage everything themselves. We don't want people like that in charge of our defence.”
“Fighting for any British candidate”
Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded British troops in Afghanistan, said that Mr. Wallace should have been chosen as he “already had the advantage of being soldier.”
“Ben Wallace has made every effort to support Ukraine in this vital cause, including diverting much of Britain's defense resources at a time when they are already depleted,” he said.< /p>
“The UK is the leading European defense power, as has been more than demonstrated in Ukraine, and should therefore be the strongest European contender for NATO leadership.” The Biden administration favors the EU over the UK and there will certainly be an uphill battle for any British candidate.”
Army Minister James Hippie said Mr Wallace “would be a fantastic general secretary” and showed “real leadership” over Ukraine.
He told LBC: “The Alliance will need a very strong man to move forward. I would have thought that Ben would be the right person to do it.”
Rishi Sunaka's spokesman said the prime minister “does not acknowledge” suggestions that the White House was actively blocking Wallace's candidacy.
“My understanding is that the United States has been gracious about our nominating a candidate, and the Prime Minister has made it clear that the Secretary of Defense is highly respected by his peers around the world,” he said.< /p>
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