... And Putin's Atomic Boast

While U.S. officials agonize over the "axis of evil" acquiring nuclear arms, news that the former "evil empire" may have a new nuke is barely raising an eyebrow. In what has become a yearly tradition, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that his scientists are developing nuclear-missile systems "of a type that no other nuclear state has." Western diplomats responded to Putin's cryptic cock-a-doodle-doo with a polite shrug. The last they heard, the cold war was over. As arms specialists tried to guess what Putin meant, some experts pointed to a mobile version of the silo-based Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile,...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!