Good question. With friends like Tommy Thompson, why do we need enemies? Thompson is the outgoing Secretary of Health and Human Services. In discussing his departure from office recently, he commented: “I, for the life of me, cannot understand why the terrorists have not, you know, attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do.”

Just imagine a group of terrorists sitting around at a planning meeting, at a loss for new and easy targets involving Americans and the United States. And easier, less costly ways to cause big trouble, terrorism on-the-cheap, so to speak.

It is not difficult to understand their delight when they read or see video of Thompson’s advice for a low-cost, simple way to have a major terrorist impact. How easy would such ridiculous rhetoric make their job?

Perhaps Thompson was looking for a way to get across how much needs to be done in the war on terrorism. It could be he felt rushed and spoke a bit hastily. Whatever the reason, he did not emit a reassuring outburst or leave people feeling anything but glad he was leaving.

If he truly felt that we are so vulnerable, what has he been doing to alter it? Further, we might expect him to be more discreet for the good of the order. Something like, “Well, we need to keep taking steps to make sure we are finding new ways to protect our food supplies.” As if his agency has been doing something!

His parting words were a virtual invitation to malcontents of various types to do us harm. And such attackers need not necessarily come from the Middle East. There are enough unsettled people in our own population who might think this is a way to make a name for themselves, however bad. What about our ecoterrorists who destroy property allegedly to save some “endangered” plot of ground.

Thompson has had long public service, and many contend he has had a good record in government. But his comments about the food supply are not among his shining utterances.

It would be little wonder if a lot of us eat a little more apprehensively in the weeks ahead.