College Dems Oppose War in Iraq

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.

Responding to the College Democrats’ assertion that Bush has been dishonest about the cost of war, Silvestri said that the Democrats are not in the best position to make such an appraisal.

“I’d have to say that President Bush’s economic advisors probably have a little bit better of a handle on the economic situation than the Harvard College Democrats,” he said.

The Democrats have joined HIPJ, the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) and four other groups in sponsoring the “emergency” rally, scheduled for tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. in front of the Science Center.

Skomarovsky said the club is calling the rally an “emergency” because of the imminenece of a potential American attack.

“The decision seems to be coming up in the very near future, and meanwhile the Bush administration seems...like it’s only squeezing the trigger tighter,” he said. “Just now is probably the last chance that the international community and the anti-war movement in the United States has to really put the pressure on.”

But McGeary said the decision to release the statement yesterday was in no way related to the timetable for a military invasion.

“Obviously we understand the country may be going to war very soon, but that didn’t really influence our decision,” he said.

McGeary said that although some members of the College Democrats’ board were initially concerned about joining forces with anti-war groups, he said he hopes that the wide spectrum of perspectives will strengthen the rally.

“There were some reservations that some of the reasons that HIPJ opposes the war we don’t agree with,” he said. “Even if the organization had different reasons, that’s fine, it simply makes the rally stronger and more broad based,”

McGeary said that the statement was not intended as a criticism of national Democratic figures who have supported the war, such as Massachusetts Senator and presidential hopeful John F. Kerry.

But he did say that Democrats should be more critical of Bush’s policies.

“There has not been enough criticism of where the administration’s efforts have been,” McGeary said. “Most importantly the administration has been focusing almost entirely on Iraq to the expense of homeland security, which should be the primary concern.”