Despite the end of the Cold War a decade ago, the danger of nuclear war -- and the human catastrophe which such a conflict could inflict on the planet -- has not diminished. In recent months India and Pakistan have both threatened to use their nuclear arsenals in any future conflict over the disputed territory of Kashmir. The Bush administration, in their drive for military superiority, have abandoned arms control treaties and embarked on deployment of a controversial missile defense system, proposed the development of new battlefield nuclear weapons and threatened to use nukes against non-nuclear states.

In June, several veterans of the anti-nuclear weapons movement of the 1980s issued an "Urgent Call to End the Nuclear Danger." Drafted by author Jonathan Schell, Freeze Campaign organizer Randy Forsberg and former director of SANE David Cortright, the call is an initiative to "engage and educate a broad public about the growing danger that nuclear weapons will be used, and about practical steps to reduce that danger. The document first published in the Nation Magazine and circulated on the Internet demands that the U.S. and Russia fulfill their commitments under the nonproliferation treaty together with the other nuclear powers, step by carefully inspected and verified step, to the abolition of nuclear weapons."

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Jonathan Schell, author of "The Fate of the Earth," who explains why the "Urgent Call" was issued now and his hope that a new anti-nuclear weapons movement can be organized to counter the threat of nuclear conflict.

Contact those organizing the "Urgent Call" at (617) 354-4337 or visit their Web site at www.urgentcall.org

Related link:

• Read the "Urgent Call " in the Nation Magazine