"Kissinger backed dirty war against left in Argentina"

Henry Kissinger gave Argentina's military junta the green light to suppress political opposition at the start of the "dirty war" in 1976, telling the country's foreign minister: "If there are things that have to be done, you should do them quickly," according to newly-declassified documents published yesterday.

Kissinger knew of Argentine dictators' repression: US documents
Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, shown here in February 2004, did not try to stop Argentine military dictators from violating human rights in 1976, according to newly declassified US documents.

State department documents show the former secretary of state urged Argentina to crush the opposition just months after it seized power and before the US Congress convened to consider sanctions.

"We won't cause you unnecessary difficulties. If you can finish before Congress gets back, the better," Mr Kissinger told Admiral Cesar Augusto Guzzetti, the foreign minister, according to the State Department's transcript.

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