Just arriving from NYU:
From Karen J. Greenberg, Executive Director, Center on Law and Security
Nir Rosen is always provocative, but he crossed the line yesterday with his comments about Lara Logan. 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 He has apologized, withdrawn his remarks, and submitted his resignation as a fellow, which I have accepted.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.
Yesterday I predicted, with some cynicism, some sweeping of this under the rug, so I applaud NYU’s Center on Law and Security for taking this seriously. I believe in the First Amendment and the need to forgive the occasional stupid, thoughtless, or insensitive comment; everyone makes one sooner or later. But there was something profoundly disturbing in Rosen’s complete inability to sympathize with the awful ordeal of Ms. Logan and the fact that when others recoiled at his comments, he kept digging in deeper.