The Harvard College Democrats came out against “nearly unilateral” American military action in Iraq yesterday, taking a position for the first time on a debate that has dominated national politics and torn the Democratic Party.

After meeting to discuss the club’s involvement in co-sponsoring tomorrow’s “emergency” anti-war rally, the College Democrats’ executive board decided to release an official statement opposing the war, according to club president R. Gerard McGeary ’04.

According to the statement, the club supports the U.N. Security Council’s efforts to disarm Saddam Hussein through diplomatic means.

President George W. Bush and his administration have not yet exhausted those means and have not done enough to secure the support of America’s allies, the statement said.

“Furthermore, we believe that President Bush has not been honest with the American people about the costs of nearly unilateral action in Iraq, a fact demonstrated by his evasiveness during the March 6th press conference to questions of sacrifice,” the statement said.

“As such, the Harvard College Democrats do not, at this time, believe that the immediate use of military force is in the best interests of America or of the World,” the statement said.

McGeary said he hopes the statement would help publicize tomorrow’s rally and spark campus debate, but he said the Democrats released the statement out of a sense of responsibility.

“It’s one of those things that as an organization we should be doing: taking a strong moral stance on an issue that we feel strongly about,” he said. “We felt it was wrong that we had not taken a position on the war yet.”

McGeary said that the statement reflects the position of the group’s members, as well as its board. In a meeting this December, members expressed sentiments similar to those in yesterday’s statement, McGeary said, although he acknowledged that not all of the members would agree with the club’s statement.

“We recognize that its not the position of every Democrat on campus to be opposed to the war, but...the position of the Harvard College Democrats as an organization is in opposition to the war,” McGeary said. “That’s an important distinction to make.”

A member of the Harvard Initiative for Peace and Justice (HIPJ), which is leading the anti-war movement on campus and organizing tomorrow’s rally, said that the College Democrats’ statement indicates the strength of campus support against the war.

“I think that it shows how broad of a coalition the anti-war movement has become,” said HIPJ member Matthew Skomarovsky ’03. “And certainly everyone who’s currently working to oppose the war is happy to have the Dems on board.”

But Harvard Republican Club spokesperson Mark Silvestri ’05 said the College Democrats’ statement against the war would have little impact.

“I think it’s obvious that the Democrats, along with many liberals here, would like [the U.S] not to use force—for them to just formalize it doesn’t really change too many things,” Silvestri said.

He also said the Republican Club has no plans to reply with an official statement of its own.