U.S.

to Declassify 'Dirty War' Records

By Lederman, Josh Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque), March 18, 2016

U.S. to Declassify 'Dirty War' Records

Lederman, Josh, Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque)

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will move to declassify U.S. military and
intelligence records related to Argentina's "Dirty War," the White House said
Thursday, aiming to bring closure to questions of U.S. involvement in a notorious
chapter in Argentina's history.

Obama's visit to Buenos Aires next week coincides with the 40th anniversary of the
1976 military coup that started Argentina's 1976- 83 dictatorship. Little is known
about the U.S. role leading up to that period, in which thousands of people were
forcibly disappeared and babies systematically stolen from political prisoners.

Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, said Obama would use his trip to
announce a "comprehensive effort" to declassify more documents, at Argentina's
request. She said Obama would also visit Remembrance Park in Buenos Aires to
honor victims of the dictatorship.

"This anniversary and beyond, we're determined to do our part as Argentina continues
to heal and move forward as one nation," Rice said in a speech ahead of Obama's trip.
The U.S. has previously released 4,000 State Department documents related to that
period, but those documents tell only part of the story. Notes from a 1976 meeting
between Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Argentina's foreign minister, for
example, seemed to show Kissinger urging his new counterpart to clamp down on
dissidents they referred to as "terrorists."

"If there are things that have to be done, you should do them quickly," Kissinger said,
according to a transcript the U.S. declassified more than a decade ago.

In Argentina, human rights advocates have repeatedly called for the U.S. to divulge
the rest of the information it has in hopes of exposing any wrongdoing.

As part of the new declassification effort, the U.S. will search for additional records
related to rights abuses committed by the junta, said a senior Obama administration
official, who wasn't authorized to discuss the program by name and requested
anonymity. That search will for the first time include records from U.S. intelligence
agencies, along with the Pentagon, U.S. law enforcement agencies and records housed
in presidential libraries, the official said.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Argentine President

Mauricio Macri sidestepped questions about whether he would ask Obama to
declassify documents, a question activists had been raising ahead of Obama's trip. He
also dismissed criticism that Obama's visit overlapped with the 40th anniversary of the
coup that ushered in one of Latin America's most brutal dictatorships.

Such opponents "need to realize that important world leaders have a very busy
schedule," Macri said, adding that Obama has been a staunch defender of human
rights and should be welcomed.
Argentina's government estimates that at least 13,000 people were killed or
disappeared during the crackdown on leftist dissidents that became known as the
"Dirty War." Activists believe the figure was as high as 30,000.

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com

Publication information: Article title: U.S. to Declassify 'Dirty War' Records. Contributors: Lederman, Josh - Author. Newspaper title:
Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque). Publication date: March 18, 2016. Page number: A6. © Telegraph Herald. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights
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