'No one told her to go there': Now FEMALE pundit lays into Egypt sex attack victim Lara Logan and 'animal' protesters

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 21:00 EDT, 17 February 2011

A female political pundit has been heavily criticised for suggesting Lara Logan should have seen her sex attack coming - and for calling the Egyptians who were protesting for democracy 'animals'.

Debbie Schlussel posted a picture of Miss Logan on her blog, under the headline: 'Islam Fan Lara Logan Gets a Taste of Islam', before adding 'How fitting that Lara Logan was “liberated” by Muslims in Liberation Square while she was gushing over the other part of the “liberation".'

It comes as an American academic, Nir Rosen, yesterday resigned from his post at New York University after calling Miss Logan a 'warmonger' who was 'trying to outdo' rival news correspondent Anderson Cooper.

Offensive: Debbie Schlussel has been heavily criticised for a blog she wrote about Lara Logan under the headline: 'Islam Fan Lara Logan Gets a Taste of Islam'

'Cruel and insensitive': Nir Rosen has sparked outrage over remarks he made about Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted while reporting in Egypt

CBS correspondent Miss Logan endured a 'brutal and sustained' sexual assault and beating while covering the resignation of President Mubarak in Egypt.

The mother-of-one had been surrounded by an angry mob of 200 people before the assault which is thought to have lasted up to half an hour. She had to be saved by a group of women and 20 Egyptian soldiers and was later taken to hospital.

Yesterday Schlussel, who is Jewish, wrote: 'Lara Logan was among the chief cheerleaders of this 'revolution' by animals.

'Now she knows what Islamic revolution is really all about.

'So sad, too bad, Lara.

'No one told her to go there. She knew the risks. And she should have known what Islam is all about. Now she knows. Or so we’d hope. 

'Hope you’re enjoying the revolution, Lara! Alhamdilllullah [praise allah].'

Hundreds of people posted replies on the blog, calling for Schlussel to show some compassion.

One reader wrote: ' A woman was severely beaten and people like you revel in it!!

'Debbie’s comments do not just state another side to things, she takes obvious pleasure in what happened! It’s more than disgusting. This should NOT be about telling someone, “I told you so”.'

Controversial: Nir Rosen quit his job after writing about Miss Logan. His former boss said the resignation 'in no way compensates for the harm his comments have inflicted' and that the remarks were 'completely unacceptable'

Miss Logan's attack happened just days after CNN's Anderson Cooper and his crew were punched and kicked by an angry mob while reporting from the country.

Hours after details of the attack on Miss Logan emerged, Nir Rosen, a New York University fellow, wrote on Twitter that she was 'probably just groped like thousands of other women'.

He added: 'Lara Logan had to outdo Anderson.

'Yes yes it's wrong what happened to her. Of course. I don't support that. But it would have been funny if it happened to Anderson too.

'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 warmonger.

'Look, she was probably groped like thousands of other women.'

After a huge backlash against Rosen, the New York University fellow resigned.

He later offered a half-hearted apology, after deleting several of his previous posts.

He wrote: 'Ah f*** it, I apologize for being insensitive, it's always wrong, that's obvious, but I'm rolling my eyes at all the attention she will get.'

He later appeared to have a change of heart, and offered a more sincere apology.

Mob: CNN's Anderson Cooper was also attacked by a group of men in Egypt, who punched him. Rosen had claimed on Twitter that Miss Logan was just trying to 'outdo' Cooper by revealing she was assaulted

'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.

Today, just 24 hours after resigning, Rosen attempted to defend his comments, describing them as just 'bad jokes addressed to a few people'.

But he stressed that 'it goes without saying that assaulting a woman is wrong', adding that the media ignore many other victims of violence.

'I know that in a matter of seconds with a thoughtless joke, I brought shame upon myself and my family and added insult to Ms. Logan's injury.

'I feel I should make one last statement. I offer my deepest apologies to Ms. Logan, her friends and her family. I never meant to hurt anyone.'

Rosen, who had worked for NYU's Center on Law and Security, had covered the Iraq War extensively and had written for prestigious publications including Time and the New York Times Magazine.

He stepped down from his role yesterday morning, according to the centre's executive director Karen J. Greenberg, who described his comments as 'cruel and insensitive'.

'Nir Rosen is always provocative, but he crossed the line with his comments about Lara Logan,' she said in a statement.

Cynical: Rosen's first attempt at an apology was half-hearted

'I am deeply distressed by what he wrote about Ms. Logan and strongly denounce his comments.

'They were cruel and insensitive and completely unacceptable.

'Mr. Rosen tells me that he misunderstood the severity of the attack on her in Cairo.

'He has apologized, withdrawn his remarks, and submitted his resignation as a fellow, which I have accepted.

'However, this in no way compensates for the harm his comments have inflicted.

'We are all horrified by what happened to Ms. Logan, and our thoughts are with her during this difficult time. '

Rosen and Schlussel are not alone in posting offensive comments about Miss Logan.

Messageboards across America have sparked ugly debate about whether an 'attractive blonde woman' should have even been reporting in Egypt in the first place.

The debate became so ugly on NPR that moderator Mark Memmott was forced to remove scores of comments and reiterate their stance on offensive message-posting.

He added: 'Here's a suggestion based on my more than 30 years of reporting and editing experience. Before you submit a comment, ask yourself this question: If I had to put my real name with this, would I hit "publish?"

'If the answer is no, the better move might be to hit "delete".'