Jeane Kirkpatrick, a strong American voice of sanity at the United Nations during the Reagan era, has died at the age of 80.

iris.org points out a blunt and prophetic statement by Ms Kirkpatrick from 2002, when she told a Capitol Hill seminar that creating a Palestinian state would be catastrophic:

“It would be a step backward in America’s fight against international terrorism … When we accept a terrorist state as legitimate, we strengthen terrorist groups,” she said. Dr. Kirkpatrick said that while the Oslo accords were supposed to bring Israel peace and safety, “the situation is more dangerous for Israel now than it’s ever been.” She emphasized that “The destruction of Israel and expulsion of the Jews has been the goal of the PLO since its beginning in 1964 and continues to this day.”

UPDATE at 12/8/06 9:54:09 am:

Daniel Freedman posts one of Kirkpatrick’s greatest speeches: “But Then, They Always Blame America First.”