NYU fellow quits after tweets about Logan assault

NEW YORK -- A journalist resigned from his New York University fellowship Wednesday, one day after he posted derogatory comments on Twitter about CBS reporter Lara Logan as the news of her assault in Egypt was breaking.

"Jesus Christ, at a moment when she is going to become a martyr and glorified we should at least remember her role as a major war monger," Nir Rosen wrote on Twitter. He later added, "Look, she was probably groped like thousands of other women."

CBS has said the reporter was in Cairo on Friday when she, her team and their security "were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration."

Logan suffered "a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating," CBS said. She was saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers, the network said.

Rosen resigned from NYU's Center on Law and Security. He also took to Twitter to apologize.

"As someone who's devoted his career to defending victims and supporting justice, I'm very ashamed for my insensitive and offensive comments," he wrote.

Reached by e-mail on Wednesday, Rosen did not immediately respond to questions about his Twitter posts.

As a fellow at the Center on Law and Security, he had a salary and a work space.

The center's executive director, Karen J. Greenberg, said Wednesday that she had accepted Rosen's resignation.

"Nir Rosen is always provocative, but he crossed the line with his comments about Lara Logan," Greenberg said. "I am deeply distressed by what he wrote about Ms. Logan and strongly denounce his comments. They were cruel and insensitive and completely unacceptable."

Rosen is the author of books about Iraq including "In the Belly of the Green Bird: The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq" and "Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World."

He has written for publications including Time, The New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine.

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