Jeane Kirkpatrick - Ambassador To The UN

Ambassador To The UN

Kirkpatrick once said, "What takes place in the Security Council more closely resembles a mugging than either a political debate or an effort at problem-solving." Still, she finished her term with a certain respect for the normative power of the United Nations as the "institution whose majorities claim the right to decide - for the world - what is legitimate and what is illegitimate." She noted that the United States had increasingly ignored this significance and became increasingly isolated. This was problematic, because "relative isolation in a body like the United Nations is a sign of impotence," especially given the ability of the United Nations to shape international attitudes. Kirkpatrick was ambassador to the U.N. during the Sept. 1, 1983 Soviet shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 near Moneron Island. KAL 007 had carried 269 passengers and crew including a sitting congressman, Larry McDonald from Georgia. She played before the Security Council the audio of the electronic intercept of the interceptor pilot during the attack, after which the Soviet Union could no longer deny its responsibility for the shootdown.

According to Jay Nordlinger, on a visit with American dignitaries, Soviet human rights activist Andrei Sakharov said, "Kirkpatski, Kirkpatski, which of you is Kirkpatski?" When others pointed to Kirkpatrick, he said, "Your name is known in every cell in the Gulag," because she had named Soviet political prisoners on the floor of the UN. Kirkpatrick said she would only serve one term at the UN and stepped down in April 1985.