Intended to be ready by 2005, the thermobaric device is essentially a para-atomic weapon which reproduces the heat and blast wave of the atomic bomb, causing buildings and people to implode, but without the long lasting radiation, thus causing fewer problems for the invader.
The technology is surprisingly old, and unlike atomic weapons, therombaric devices can come in a range of sizes, all the way from hand held bazookas to Hiroshima type capacities.
It hardly goes without saying that the resources used in producing this latest outrage could have been spent on much better things. Sometimes you really wonder if Blair has any idea of the difference between the humanitarian bombs he used in Kosovo and the 'evil' bombs he ranted about in speeches last year. In fact the distinction is simple: evil bombs are thrown by someone else, humanitarian bombs are dropped from aeroplanes onto someone else.

The UN has reported that the remains of "depleted" uranium tipped shells found in the Balkans are still emitting deadly amounts of radioactivity. This would presumably be the case in Iraq too.