Argentina 'saw Kissinger comments as green light for abuses'

A conversation between former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger and Argentina’s foreign minister gave the military junta the impression it had American backing for its notorious “dirty war”, it has been claimed.

Near the outset of Argentina’s ruthless campaign against dissidents in 1976, Kissinger told the junta’s foreign minister: “If there are things that have to be done, you should do them quickly,” according to a newly-declassified document released today.