'Last Best Chance' To Save World

Fictional Film Tackles Scary Reality Of Nuclear Armageddon

(CBS) 
"The CIA has officially assessed, that's CIA-speak for guessed, that thefts have occurred that we haven't detected," Bunn says.

"Last Best Chance" also shows just how easily nuclear bombs can be moved once they're assembled, and how very difficult the weapons are to detect; which is why it's so important for terrorists to be stopped from getting the material in the first place.

Bunn says, "We know how to secure valuable and important things. Human beings have been doing that for thousands of years. We never lose anything from Fort Knox. The Russians never lose anything from the Kremlin armory."

In the last presidential debates, both candidates agreed on the nation's top security concern. But Nunn believes rhetoric is not enough.

"I think the political will has not been as strong. We have had some actions. We have had the right words. But converting words to deeds is enormously important," Nunn says.

In the movie, the American and Russian presidents work well together. And, at a summit earlier this year, the real presidents Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin did make some progress.

"We agreed to accelerate our work to protect nuclear weapons and material in our two nations and around the world and I want to thank you for that," Mr. Bush said to his Russian counterpart.

Nunn says that only about half of the nuclear sites in Russia and other former Soviet states meet U.S. security standards. He blames bureaucracy, tight money and a general lack of urgency.

"It ought to be on the front burner every day with President Bush. It ought to be on the front burner with President Putin. So is it on the agenda? Yes. But is it on the front burner? In my opinion it has not been and it must be," Nunn says.

Asked if the film was a way to pressure the leaders into action, Nunn laughed and said, "That's right."

It cost a $1 million to make "Last Best Chance." The movie has been screened more than 20 times, in Washington, Moscow and elsewhere around the world. The Nuclear Threat Initiative offers free DVD copies on its Web site. So far, more than 50,000 have gone out and Monday night, the movie airs on HBO.

The hope is that appealing directly to the public will force politicians to act.

"When you can get the public involved, the public officials move faster," Kean believes.

Nunn, who came up with the title "Last Best Chance," believes terrorists would probably have used a bomb if they already had one.

"The reality is we don't know what the odds are, but we do know we can make the world a lot safer. And we do know we can reduce towards zero the risk that any nuclear weapon would be used by anyone at anytime.

"Are we there yet? No we have a long way to go," Nunn says. "Will it ever be zero? Probably not. But we can dramatically reduce the risk. We do have a last best chance."