ambassador
and an ardent anticommunist. After serving as Ronald Reagan
's foreign policy
adviser in his 1980 campaign
and later in his Cabinet, the longtime Democrat
-turned-Republican
was nominated as the U.S. ambassador
to the United Nations
and became the first woman to hold this position.
She is known for her "Kirkpatrick Doctrine
," which advocated U.S. support of anticommunist governments around the world, including authoritarian
dictatorships, if they went along with Washington's aims—believing they could be led into democracy by example.
"When our Marines, sent to Lebanon on a multinational peacekeeping mission with the consent of the United States Congress, were murdered in their sleep, the "blame America first crowd" didn't blame the terrorists who murdered the Marines, they blamed the United States. But then, they always blame America first. . . . The American people know better."
: Speech delivered at the 1984 Republican National Convention
"No idea holds greater sway in the minds of educated Americans that the belief that it is possible to democratize governments anytime and anywhere under any circumstances ."
:Dictatorship and Double Standards, Commentary (New York, Nov. 1979), quoted in The Economist , 23 December 2006:131
"The speed with which armies collapse, bureaucracies abdicate, and social structures dissolve once the autocrat is removed frequently surprises American Policy makers ."
:Dictatorship and Double Standards, Commentary (New York, Nov. 1979), quoted in The Economist , 23 December 2006:131
"Decades, if not centuries are normally required for people to acquire the necessary disciplines and habits. (for democracy) In Britain, the road to (democratic government) took seven centuries to traverse ." :Dictatorship and Double Standards, Commentary (New York, Nov. 1979), quoted in The Economist , 23 December 2006:131