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'''Jeane J. Kirkpatrick''', who was the first woman to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the [[United Nations]] (1981-1985), and an important intellectual leader of the [[neoconservative]] political faction, died on December 7, 2006, aged 80. <ref> "[http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2710430 Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ex-Ambassador, Dies]", ''Associated Press, December 8, 2006. </ref>
==Background==
Kirkpatrick was a fierce anti-communist whose writings on dictatorships for ''Commentary'' magazine in the late 1970s caught the eye of [[Ronald Reagan]], prompting him to nominate her to the UN ambassador post. Kirkpatrick went on to become a proponent of the post-Cold War neoconservative agenda, which emerged in the 1990s and helped shape the preemptive and antiterror foreign policies of the [[George W. Bush]] administration.
At the time of her death, Kirkpatrick was a fellow at the AEI, where she wrote on human rights, UN reform, and international law. She also used this perch to actively promote policies pushed by the [[Project for the New American Century]] (PNAC), a letterhead group based in the same office building as AEI and headed by several neoconservative ideologues, including Irving Kristol's son William Kristol. PNAC played a singular role in championing the invasion of Iraq in response to the 9/11 attacks, arguing in an open letter to President Bush shortly after the attacks that the country should invade "even if evidence does not link Iraq directly to the attack." <ref> Project for a New American Century, "[http://www.newamericancentury.org/Bushletter.htm Letter to The Hon. George W. Bush]", September 20, 2001. </ref> Kirkpatrick signed her name to this letter, along with a stable of high-profile neoconservatives and/or hardliners, such as [[Frank Gaffney]], [[Charles Krauthammer]], [[Richard Perle]], and [[Marshall Wittmann]].
Shortly after this letter was published, Kirkpatrick wrote an article for the ''Chronicle of Higher Education'' in which she expanded on her reasons for why the United States should go to war in response to 9/11. She wrote: “It would be a very serious mistake for the United States not to respond with force. I do not usually ever advocate the use of force to solve problems. I just think that this is a major challenge, and that we're forced to, in order to protect our civilization. And I mean our civilization. I don't just mean American civilization, I mean modern civilization. What they are targeting is modern civilization”. <ref>“Jean Jeane Kirkpatrick,” "[http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i05/05b01602.htm The Case for Force]",” ''Chronicle of Higher Education'', September 28, 2001. </ref>
In an interview a few months before her death, Kirkpatrick seemed to backtrack on her initial enthusiasm for the Bush administration's interventionist war on terror and contradicted the sentiments of many neocon ideologues, like [[Max Boot ]] of the ''Los Angles Times '' and the ''Washington Post'''s [[Charles Krauthammer]], both of whom have argued that the United States should embrace an imperialist mission. Saying that Bush's foreign policies are “a "a little too interventionist for my taste, frankly,” " Kirkpatrick said that the country did not “have "have an obligation to engage in a new imperialism” imperialism" and that she was “skeptical "skeptical of nation-building. It is extremely difficult for one nation to seriously remake another nation.” " However, she also added, “I "I am very much in favor of [Bush's] actions in Afghanistan and have not opposed them in Iraq” (Washington TimesIraq". <ref>Ralph Hallow, May 15, 2006)"[http://www.washingtontimes. Kirkpatrick also actively worked with a number of groups (several that emerged in the wake of 9com/national/11) that have advocated the democracy thesis as an important rationale for an expansive war on terror, including the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a group run by former New York Times writer Clifford May that claims to be the “only nonpartisan policy institute dedicated exclusively to promoting pluralism, defending democratic values, and fighting the ideologies that drive terrorism20060515-122839-9492r.” htm Kirkpatrick also served in varying capacities Hit Liberals for such neoconservative-driven groups as Freedom House, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and Empower Blaming America. EarlierFirst]", in the 1970s and 80s, Kirkpatrick was associated with the Coalition for a Democratic Majority, Midge Decter's Committee for the Free World'Washington Times'', and the fanatical Cuban American National FundMay 15, which was founded by anti-Castro Cuban émigré Jorge Mas Canosa2006. </ref>
Kirkpatrick also actively worked with a number of groups (several that emerged in the wake of 9/11) that have advocated the democracy thesis as an important rationale for an expansive war on terror, including the [[Foundation for the Defense of Democracies]], a group run by former ''New York Times'' writer [[Clifford May]] that claims to be the "only nonpartisan policy institute dedicated exclusively to promoting pluralism, defending democratic values, and fighting the ideologies that drive terrorism." Kirkpatrick also served in varying capacities for such neoconservative-driven groups as [[Freedom House]], the [[Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs]], the [[Ethics and Public Policy Center]], and [[Empower America]]. Earlier, in the 1970s and 80s, Kirkpatrick was associated with the [[Coalition for a Democratic Majority]], [[Midge Decter]]'s [[Committee for the Free World]], and the fanatical [[Cuban American National Fund]], which was founded by anti-Castro Cuban émigré [[Jorge Mas Canosa]].
Kirkpatrick was believed to be a member of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]] (CFR) and was considered to be a "neo-con" ([[neo-conservative]]). She was co-director of [[Empower America]], founder of [[Social Democrats USA]] (SDUSA), and a member of the board of directors of the [[Foundation for the Defense of Democracies]] (FDD).
