The Russians have a new bomb, and it's a whopper: a thermobaric device with the putative power of a small nuclear weapon. One might assume this is an unusable weapon, but given the Russians' record in Chechnya, we shouldn't assume that mere scruples would prevent its use. This not to say the Putin-era Russian state has no scruples -- they're merely environmental scruples! As the UK Telegraph story on the device reports: "Despite its destructive qualities, the bomb is environmentally friendly, Gen [Alexander] Rushkin said." Well, there you go: it may vaporize several city blocks, but the environment will be fine. Thus, our era.
