09 February 2026, 10:48

Opinion: Being an enemy of the U.S. is dangerous, but being its friend is deadly

Andrei Bogodel, an archive photo

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MINSK, 9 February (BelTA) – Being an enemy of the United States is dangerous, but being its friend is deadly, Andrei Bogodel, Deputy Head of the Faculty of Education and Science – Head of the Education and Methodology Department of the Faculty of the General Staff of the Armed Forces at the Military Academy of Belarus, said in the latest episode of the V Teme [On Point] project on BelTA’s YouTube channel.

According to the expert, the U.S. National Defense Strategy assigns Russia the role of a regional power that will not be allowed to dominate the Eastern Hemisphere, meaning any attempt at leadership turns the country into a U.S. adversary. Regarding America’s national security and defense strategies, Andrei Bogodel advises reading them carefully to understand all the details and avoid being misled.

“I think we shouldn’t have any illusions about the United States,” the expert stated. “We know perfectly well what it means to be an enemy for the United States – it’s simply dangerous, and what it means to be a friend – it’s deadly. This is a priori true. After all, we talked so much last year about how we were building a multipolar world, and it’s just around the corner. Where is BRICS today, where is the SCO? Look, even India, a member of these organizations, is suddenly, for some reason, embracing Europeans, and the volume of oil supplies from the Russian Federation to India is decreasing (and probably some other goods). And at what price, for example, does China buy oil from Russia?” Andrei Bogodel asked. “Where is this multipolar world? I just want, as someone once said, to grab someone by the button and ask: ‘So, the United States is no longer a hegemon, right? Then who is?’”

“The Americans and the British have controlled all transport communications and logistics, and they continue to do so,” he continued. “The Americans do so militarily, with their bases and their fleet. And God forbid anyone should stick their head out, so no one does. The British do so by insuring ships and determining the degree of shipping risk anywhere. And we can’t do anything to counter this yet.”

Andrei Bogodel added that the U.S. and the UK will not be content with controlling the seas alone. “They will not only control maritime communications but are already moving on to land communications, and on a global scale. I am far from thinking that defeating Iran will be a walk in the park,” he noted. “It is absolutely wrong to think that today, with missile and air strikes, it is possible to topple these ayatollahs or anyone else. Believe me, there is more democracy in Iran than in America or many European countries, although Iran has two branches of power – non-clerical and clerical. But if you read carefully how this clerical power is formed, it is also formed on a democratic basis. This is not the election of the Pope; they have their own councils, i.e. expert councils, the Guardian Council. Everything is arranged there to ensure the stability of state power. They have moved away from the approaches that Western countries impose and then use to judge: ‘How did your elections go? Were they democratic or not?’”