I’ve started and stopped writing this column a number of times. I may end up stopping this time and starting over again as well. Let’s see how it goes.

I know I need to write about the United States’ actions in Venezuela, but I’m not sure what to say about it. It’s a complicated situation and I’m not confident we have the right people in place to handle it.

I don’t know if I should condemn or praise the actions outright. When Marjorie Tylor Green and AOC agree on something, you know there are no easy answers.

Let’s just say I’m concerned.

So many of our diplomats in the State Department have left or been removed by DOGE. Our Secretary of Defen… I mean Secretary of War acts like a tough guy who shoots first, then aims later.

President Trump says that the United States is in control of the country. Marco Rubio was on the Sunday morning news programs, vaguely saying that we’re not going to be the ones in charge.

Speaking of the Sunday morning news programs, I watched as various cabinet members all went before the cameras to explain the administration’s actions. Most of them spent a large portion of their time praising President Trump by saying what a brave, smart, and wonderful leader he is, and less time mapping out the strategy of what happens next.

Did we take out Maduro to stop drugs or to get access to his oil? If it was about regime change, why are Maduro’s people still in charge? Did we do this, hoping to lower gas prices to benefit the Republican Party for the Midterms? Is this just the first step? Is Greenland, Mexico, and maybe even Canada next?

So many questions that need to be answered.

One thing I know for sure is that the timing of going into Venezuela was no accident. Sending the military into South America took the Epstein Files off the front page and buried the Jack Smith testimony about January 6 and the classified document investigation even deeper.

If you didn’t hear about the closed-door testimony from the Special Prosecutor, it’s because the Republicans released the video and the transcripts on New Year’s Eve. Spoiler alert: the testimony made the president look like a criminal.

A month or so ago, I did a podcast with Congressman Don Bacon. I asked him why America hated Venezuela. He pointed out what a bad guy Maduro was and that he had driven his country’s economy into the ground. He then went on to say that he didn’t believe we should take Maduro out.

After we captured Maduro and his wife, the congressman put out a press release where he stated that the actions of the Trump administration would be good for the people of Venezuela, but he was concerned that Russia would use these actions to justify their behavior in Ukraine or China towards Taiwan.

I share those same concerns about Russia and China with the Congressman, although the jury is still out on whether this will be good for the people of Venezuela or not.

Speaking about Congress, they weren’t informed of what was being planned prior to the raid. Say what you will about George W. Bush and the invasion of Iraq, but he kept Congress apprised, and Secretary of Defense Colin Powell went before the United Nations to plead our case and get other nations onboard.

None of that happened this time. America acted on the orders of one man.

So much of this is being done way above any of our pay grades; it’s hard to know the whole truth. There is so much going on behind the scenes that we may never know, and that’s by design.

Pete Hegseth has forced the legitimate Pentagon reporters out unless they only report on the stories pre-approved by him and his people. Even his former employer, FOX News couldn’t agree to those terms.

So did President Trump do the right thing when he signed off on that military action? Do the American people even care?

It appears that Wall Street likes what the president has done. But should the Standard and Poor’s index be the only barometer of whether something is the right thing to do?

Once again, the actions of President Trump and his administration have me saying the Serenity Prayer. There is not much any of us can do about this.

I don’t know if what we did last weekend was the right or wrong thing to do. That will be for historians to decide.

I’ll just finally finish this column to say that I’m concerned.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.