The U.S state department has released previously classified documents relating to Argentina's "dirty war" during the period of military rule there between 1976-1983. In that time, possibly as many as 30,000 people disappeared in the crackdown on leftist groups and political opponents. Some of the correspondence indicates that the U.S. government could have done much more to pressure the Argentine leaders over their record of human rights violations. 19 years on, we can only hope that lessons have been learned, and that sometime in the future, children will have no need to write letters like this.