As President Bush continued his campaign to gather U.S. and international support to launch a new war against Iraq, opponents of his policy have taken to the streets across the globe. In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of citizens in Britain, Italy and Spain have voiced strong objections to their government's support for the "Bush doctrine" justifying a pre-emptive strike against the government of Saddam Hussein. Here in the U.S., tens of thousands of protesters have also poured into the streets expressing their opposition to the White House drive for war. Protests organized by the Not In Our Name Coalition and other groups have been held in major cities and towns across the country including New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Ore.

Even as Congress was poised to approve House and Senate resolutions giving the president broad authority to initiate a war with or without United Nations' backing, national religious leaders were taking a stand against what many believe will be an unprovoked attack on Iraq. Forty-nine heads of American Protestant and Orthodox churches and Catholic religious orders recently signed a letter to President Bush opposing U.S. military action against Baghdad.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Robert Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, a signer of the letter and a former six-term member of the U.S. Congress from Pennsylvania. Dr. Edgar explains why he and other religious leaders are opposed to the Bush administration's war plans.

Contact the National Council of Churches by calling (212) 870-2511 or visit their Web site at www.ncccusa.org.

Related links:

• Pledge of Resistance www.peacepledge.org
• Not in Our name www.notinourname.org
• IAC Oct 26th Protest International Action Center www.iacenter.org
• Sept. 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, www.peacefultomorrows.org
• Groups Opposed to a New U.S. War Against Iraq Organizing Nonviolent Civil Disobedience, Between The Lines interview with Pledge of Resistance's Gordon Clark, Week Ending Sept. 27, 2002.
• Family Member of Sept. 11 Victim Reflects on Her Loss and Mood of the Country Between The Lines interview with the Rev. Myrna Bethke, Week Ending Sept. 13, 2002.

Dr. Helen Caldicott is a pediatrician and a world-renowned anti-nuclear weapons activist. She founded Physicians for Social Responsibility in 1978 because of her grave concern over the biological impact of nuclear weapons on the human race. The group has 20,000 members who are doctors, nurses or other health professionals. The Australian born Caldicott, who now lives in the U.S., was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.

In her latest book titled, "The New Nuclear Danger: George Bush's Military Industrial Complex," Caldicott explains why she fears that a future U.S. war against Iraq could involve the use of nuclear weapons. Dr. Caldicott emphasizes that the first war against Iraq, in 1991, was a nuclear war because of the U.S. military's use of depleted uranium weapons. She points to studies that show an increase in birth deformities and an increase in specific types of cancers, especially in Iraq but also among the offspring of U.S. service personnel who served in the Gulf War.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus recently spoke with Helen Caldicott in New Haven, Conn. where she discusses the militarization of the U.S. government and the dangerous precedents set in the Bush doctrine justifying pre-emptive wars and "regime change."

Dr. Helen Caldicott's "The New Nuclear Danger: George Bush's Military Industrial Complex," is published by the New Press. Call Nuclear Policy Institute at (213) 386-1901 or visit their Web site at www.nuclearpolicy.org. Physicians for Social Responsibility may be reached at (202) 667-4260 or visit their website at www.psr.org.