During last night’s debate President Barack Obama delivered what many considered a death-blow when he and Mitt Romney exchanged barbs about Libya.  Romney called into question Obama’s judgement or lacktherof around the securing of the Embassy which came under attack on September 11th resulting in the death of 4 Americans including ambassador Christopher Stevens.

In the back and forth, Romney attempted to chastise the President for not calling the attacks on the Embassy an ‘Act of Terror‘. Obama retorted that he had. He demanded that Romney ‘look at the transcript’. The nail in the coffin came when CNN moderator Candy Crowley backed up Obama’s claim and publicly corrected Romney.  He had indeed referenced the attacks in Benghazi, as acts of terror.

It was also during this exchange that President Obama looking sternly at Mitt Romney and said he was taking full responsibility for what occurred in Libya. He said this in spite of the fact Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton had already fallen on the proverbial sword. Obama made it clear that Hillary worked for him and the buck stopped with him.. The president was widely praised for his forthright remarks, even as pundits on both sides of the political aisle debated what the president ‘really meant’ when he uttered the phrase ‘acts of terror’ the day after the attacks.

Sadly what President Obama didn’t take responsibility nor ever reference was the ongoing ‘acts of terror’ and torture that have befallen Black Libyans since the US and NATO armed and aided the NTC militias. This is the dirty little secret known all over the world where the UN, Amnesty International along with former congress woman and Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney after returning from Libya on a fact-finding trek, have all weighed in and reported.

When conflict in Libya first emerged there were mainstream stories here in the US asserting that leader Moammar Gaddafi was hiring black mercenary soldiers. So for the few journalist who got wind of torture of Black Libyans, they dismissed it and said it was mercenaries working for Gaddafi being slaughtered. Such assertions have long been disproven. The folks being ethnically cleansed were Black Libyans and innocent Black migrant workers many of them coming from other countries like Ethiopia. The torture they’ve been subjected to have been horrific ranging from public hangings, whippings, entire families shot and burned out of their homes, while others Black Libyans have been put in zoo cages and forced to eat the new Libyan flag. All of this has been well documented but ignored by our President. Even Al Jazzera which is owned and financed by the monarchs of Qatar have even reported on the wholesale slaughter of Black Libyans and they have long been stark opponents of former Libyan leader Gaddafi.

Here in the US many in the mainstream media have blocked it out and so when mentioning it, its taken as something that’s unbelievable. Many will quickly ask where are the ‘reputable’ sources to this torture  after all its something that journalist like award-winning Candy Crowley didn’t bother to mention in any of her questions. Many who are press from other countries had they been moderating would’ve definitely followed up with a question to President Obama about his thoughts and whether or not he would take responsibility for the widespread torture that militia’s he backed were committing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmzGJoQlw08

In all likelihood President Obama will be re-elected. Folks will see him being in the White House as something far better then the madness we see going within the GOP. With that being said, Obama being put into power comes with a responsibility ALL of us have. We can start with making sure he does something to end this Ethnic cleansing of Black folks in Libya and in other parts of Africa. We must strive to always keep a sense of our humanity and recognize the humanity in others, especially those who are being severely oppressed.

So yes, what took place on September 11th in Libya was an act of terror when 4 Americans who we will presume were innocent, were killed. But the hundreds and thousands of Black folks being tortured, killed and abused in Libya is also an act of terror. To ignore it is to be complicit. e could take it there and take about all the drone strikes taking place in countries like Somalia and Pakistan where scores of innocent people are being killed. There is no doubt those on the receiving end of  US drone strikes see what we’re doing as an act of terror.  To put someone into power who then sets policies in motion to carry out these horrific policies which are considered war crimes in many countries, in our collective names is terror.  Hold this President accountable.

Below are just a few links to just a few of the hundreds of stories talking about this…

• Amnesty International Finds Widespread Torture Used By Libyan Rebels
• African Women Raped in Camps By Libyan Rebels
• Black Genocide in Libya Why the Silence?
• Black Libyans Tortured to Death During Detention: Amnesty
• Libyan City Under Seige By Rebels
• Libyan Prisoners Tortured By Rebels
• Medecins Sans Frontieres Quits Libya Over Prison Torture
• Libya: NTC Must Investigate the Death of Another Tawargha man Under Torture
• Libyan Rebels Cage Black Africans Force Them to Eat Flags
• Libya ‘Out of Control ‘Militias Commit Widespread Abuses a Year on from Uprisings
• Videos of Black Libyans Being Tortured Surface
• Obama Backed Death Squads Killing Black Libyans