Kirkpatrick 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 that significance and became increasingly isolated . That was problematic , because " relative isolation in a body like the United Nations '' is '' a sign of impotence , " especially given its ability to shape international attitudes . She was ambassador to the UN during the September 1 , 1983 Soviet shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 , near Moneron Island . It had carried 269 passengers and crew including a sitting congressman , Larry McDonald ( D-GA ) . She played before the Security Council the audio of the electronic intercept of the interceptor pilot during the attack , and the Soviet Union could no longer deny its responsibility for the shootdown . Kirkpatrick was a Board Member of the American Foundation for Resistance International and the National Council to Support the Democracy Movements , intended to help bring down Soviet and East European Communism . Along with Vladimir Bukovsky , Martin Colman and Richard Perle , she worked to organize democratic revolutions against communism . 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 serve only one term at the UN and stepped down in April 1985
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Jeane Kirkpatrick