Sexual Assault on CBS Reporter in Egypt
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here.]
CBS News has released a statement that one of its reporters was sexually assaulted. To quote from their official statement:
On Friday, Feb. 11, the day Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a “60 Minutes” story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.
In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers. She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering.
There will be no further comment from CBS News and correspondent Logan and her family respectfully request privacy at this time.
Nobody else seems to know more than this and of course “brutal and sustained sexual assault” could mean several things. LA Weekly claims she was repeatedly raped, but they seem to be assuming that this is what CBS news is saying. That is less than clear. I would add that the LA Weekly article is downright creepy in the way it was written.
There isn’t much more to say that that. Either you get that this is self-evidently evil, whatever it was exactly, or you don’t. Let’s hope that she suffered as little as possible, and recovers quickly and fully.
Finally Hot Air speculates intelligently that “[i]n an ideal world the army would have shot the attackers on the spot, but you can imagine the chaos that would have broken out in the Square if Egyptian soldiers suddenly started firing on people.” Whether it will change how these things are covered is less clear. I suspect that for the networks the answer in the future is just more security. But they will never stop showing that front line coverage.
H/t: DRJ.
Update: What is so deformed in some people that a thing like this happens and the first thoughts is on the political implications, or on the political positions of the victim? Read here, if you have the stomach.
Update (II): More on that scumbag from the last update, here.
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
Those were some gutsy women.
JEA (0e40c5) — 2/15/2011 @ 3:01 pmThe only time I’ve ever paid attention to 60 Minutes is when a segment by her is on at the time. When I first saw her I immediately thought just another pretty face, but she’s actually quite fair and balanced in her reportage, and she’s demonstrated huge balls at times in her work (as evidenced here). The US military allows her to be embedded not because she’s a propaganda outlet for them, but because she gets right down in the dirt if necessary (her Humvee was attacked in the Koral Valley a few months ago in Afganistan). I hope she’s OK.
Dmac (c50897) — 2/15/2011 @ 3:05 pmBTW, she never should have been allowed to wade into that maddened throng in the first place, but that’s what she does.
Dmac (c50897) — 2/15/2011 @ 3:06 pmAgreed, Dmac. When I saw the picture of her (she’s quite attractive) my first thought was that it was idiotic to put her in the throngs of crazies at that protest. Egypt is a man’s world, and women are oppressed there. The idea that a woman can safely walk around such a protest is a lie, and that’s an important aspect to what’s going wrong if the Muslim Brotherhood takes power.
It’s a shame that a fair and smart reporter loses access because she’s a pretty woman, but that is a hard reality.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 2/15/2011 @ 3:11 pmIs anyone else somewhat bemused at the idea of a reporter “respectfully requesting privacy”. And that a “news” organisation like CBS will not release further details. One wonders how circumspect & respectful they’d be to someone not on their payroll, or whether they’d be as in your face as usual.
Tom Heinrich (281d58) — 2/15/2011 @ 3:22 pmShe’s one of the few reporters that gave the military an even break, whether in Ramadi or
narciso (c8ccf1) — 2/15/2011 @ 3:25 pmBaghdad, or the Korengal valley.
Heinrich, I share your disdain of CBS and its hypocrisy but the young woman has my sincere sympathy.
SPQR (26be8b) — 2/15/2011 @ 3:27 pmYou could always just drag them off, and shoot them away from the crowd.
God willing…
Scott Jacobs (218307) — 2/15/2011 @ 3:35 pmSuch are the problems of women in combat
Bill Maher (03e5c2) — 2/15/2011 @ 3:46 pmI am certainly appalled at this story but there is another level of this. We are now in an era when women have been very safe in the presence of strange men for 200 years. There is an assumption in “polite circles” that this is a normal state of nature. Women tend to make more anti-gun statements even though they are the most likely to need one in a bad situation. I remember when Michael Jackson, a left wing radio talk show host on KABC, did a show on people who, illegally, carried concealed handguns in LA. He had the police chief on with him. Whatsisname, who was a bad chief and is now a city councilman.
All the callers were women! The usual theme was “I will not be a victim.” The show was pretty funny as the chief and the host kept scolding the callers, but the callers made the point I am trying to make here. Women are not as safe as some of them think.
Look at fashion show photos. The arrogant self satisfied look the models assume. Something similar can be seen all around. We are now at the point when women seem to disdain the men who were once called “good providers” and seek out “bad boy” men for excitement.
This has been a very safe country in the past 100 years. The flight to the suburbs came after the left wing governance of cities lost control of safety in the 1950s. When I went away to college in 1956, my neighborhood of Chicago (South Shore) was safe. When I returned for a visit in 1962, it wasn’t. Rudy Guliani was able to restore a lot of that safety in New York but it hasn’t changed the minds of the left wing radical chic in the city. Los Angeles was safe when I moved here in 1956 but it is no more.
I hope this young woman recovers completely but I hope she learns a lesson. When lefties say “Why do we have to spend X billion on Defense,” maybe she will have an answer. When minority neighborhoods lash out at police, maybe she will wonder if they are really acting in their own best interest.
Mike K (8f3f19) — 2/15/2011 @ 3:48 pmAh, Mike, as I pointed out earlier, she may very well be a liberal, but she has taken to the airways,
narciso (c8ccf1) — 2/15/2011 @ 4:07 pmincluding even the Daily Show, to indicate, how little interest, the media has in the Afghan and Iraq conflicts.
Too bad there weren’t a couple of gurkhas there to defend her.
hal (b1f6fb) — 2/15/2011 @ 4:47 pmI will pray for a speedy recovery.
JD (d56362) — 2/15/2011 @ 4:58 pmTerrible, just terrible. Someone needs to share this sad story with Mika ‘they ALL looked like righteous believers peacefully demonstrating for democray to me’ Brzezinski.
Icy Texan (780c03) — 2/15/2011 @ 5:02 pmDustin, I always enjoy your views, pls forgive my pc correction. She was assaulted because they’re beasts not because she’s pretty. It’s a little bit Western to even give them that much cover. It wasn’t her appearance that brought it on. I’m guessing the devil scum may have some experience with assaults and vicious attacks.
CBS should not send women to these zones, chaperone or no chaperone.
Vermont Neighbor (ae55d7) — 2/15/2011 @ 5:09 pmAs I get older I have started to realize that all the bad things have happened to me happened when I was somewhere I should not have been.
EJ Starrett (7a1f48) — 2/15/2011 @ 5:19 pmVermont, no forgiveness needed. You’re completely right.
I don’t blame her for the fact that a woman in that situation is in peril. The right people to blame are the beasts, not the pretty girl who just wanted to do her job.
Nonetheless, it is a deeply unfair world, and a man’s world in Egypt, and even though one isn’t at fault when they act against that reality, I think they shouldn’t.
There’s a larger issue, where a black refuses to sit in the back of the bus, or a woman refuses to act in fear of awful places, or a Christian goes to Mecca to see the Hajj. Sometimes that does good. Sometimes it can’t, and isn’t worth it, IMO.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 2/15/2011 @ 5:39 pmThis is a stain on all of Egypt but I’m not surprized – its an exceedingly dangerous place –
Thats not unknown to CBS, Logan et al
Rape is epidemic in some areas of the middle east of westerners – in Iraqi and Dubai its quite common almost everyday in the newspapers French women and young french and british boys seem to be the main targets, Egypt is worse.
Qatar, Bahrain, and other places will have non of that, rape is considered one of the worst crimes committable and will spare no cost, resource to bring it to justice
EricPWJohnson (427c1e) — 2/15/2011 @ 5:57 pmLike JD, I pray that she recovers, but in my experience with rape victims – this is the absolute worst of all scenarios and the salatious reporting on it is only going to make her recovery worse and her very health can suffer for it
Also CBS needs to be sued for a record amount, knowing Egypt, private security was probably a fiction, I’ve been there several times, just last month, there’s no such thing
EricPWJohnson (427c1e) — 2/15/2011 @ 6:01 pmThe idea that a woman can safely walk around such a protest is a lie, and that’s an important aspect to what’s going wrong if the Muslim Brotherhood takes power.
My prayers for Ms. Logan. She certainly has a very difficult road ahead.
With that, there seems to be a presumption in believing an American woman with a microphone would be safe in a country where during even more stable non-revolutionary times, 90% of women have had genital mutilation and experience a male-dominating oppression on a daily basis.
Throw into the usual mix of oppression and submission an increasing intensity of anger and rage and ferocity as thousands struggle and vie for power and it seems all the more an unwise risk. It would seem either an idealistic or arrogant ‘We’re Americans, we’re untouchable’ reach.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 2/15/2011 @ 6:12 pmAnd in the darkest of times, the slime goes below the bottom of the barrel, (ps; he was a major apologists for the terrorists in Iraq)
http://weaselzippers.us/2011/02/15/liberal-scumbags-reaction-to-lara-logan-being-raped-no-sympathy-for-her-she-was-a-major-war-monger/
narciso (c8ccf1) — 2/15/2011 @ 6:19 pmI watched that happen, narciso.
Guy back-peddled faster than most anyone I’ve seen in a long time.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 2/15/2011 @ 6:46 pmI’ve read some reports that groping of women by men in public is something of a social illness in Egypt.
Describing her attack as a “brutal and sustained sexual assault” is the kind of precise language that leads me to conclude it was this type of assaultive sexual touching/groping, to an extreme level, and not rape, that is most likely what happened to her.
shipwreckedcrew (bafbcb) — 2/15/2011 @ 7:01 pmThanks Dustin. And since I tend to use labels as descriptions I wanted to avoid the jump to hypocrisy. Terrible thing for this to happen… and as mentioned it’s a known factor in this part of the world. Pray she only had ‘groping’ and not the extensive personal violence we read about. Sad part is the oppressed who live it, daily… and can never leave.
Vermont Neighbor (352bcf) — 2/15/2011 @ 7:31 pmIt is a pretty revolting writeup, AW, as with Rosen,
narciso (c8ccf1) — 2/15/2011 @ 7:38 pmand sadly there’s a contribution for PDS blogger
Shannyn Moore, they are “not antiwar, they are on the other side”
If it was groping instead of rape, it reminds me of visiting Rome in the 1970s. I’m sure being groped in Rome was nothing compared to this, but it could happen in crowded public places.
DRJ (fdd243) — 2/15/2011 @ 7:44 pmI hope so, but she’s flown straight home and entered a hospital, and I fear the worst.
This Professor Rosen of NYU nutcase is beyond parody. He’s dehumanized the woman and dismissed her most essential rights… and he is doing that to put liberal (in the broadest sense, rather than US political) women in their place.
Much the same mindset of the people who are so enraged to see a woman out of her burqa that they rape her.
I wonder what tough-guy Rosen would have done had he been at this protest and spotted a conservative woman in need.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 2/15/2011 @ 7:49 pmThis story is disturbing on a number of levels. The invasion of privacy, the sensationalism of violence, and the lack of regard for the husband and small children who wait at home for a woman who will be tremendously and sadly affected. My heart goes out to this woman and her family who will suffer greatly. May their hearts heal, and may they find a safe place.
jan (f89b03) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:00 pmArmed Liberal has more on Mr. Rosen, and in the comments Glen Wishard notes Rosen was invited to speak to a group at UT Austin last November. I’d call this one of UT Austin’s low points.
DRJ (fdd243) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:02 pmFour days in a hospital seems a result of something more severe than extreme groping but then again, I’m going to resist jumping to conclusions because it feels callous and unseemly to even speculate.
I wonder what tough-guy Rosen would have done had he been at this protest and spotted a conservative woman in need.
You already know the answer: if he knew she was a Conservative, then by default she deserved what she got.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:04 pmdrj
already in the update, actually.
what a complete d-ck.
Aaron Worthing (73a7ea) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:10 pmI see it now, Aaron. I need to learn to refresh.
DRJ (fdd243) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:17 pmYou set a good example for the rest of us.
I’ll just wait to learn more.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:18 pmIt’s sad how when the whole world witnessed and acknowledged how peaceful the protesters were for three weeks, despite the fact that there were tens of millions of them, that no one cared to mention that 99% of them were Muslim, but now suddenly when there is one isolated incident of a group of thugs (probably trained by Mubarak’s people) assaulting this poor woman, some people on here are blaming it on Islam.
When are we gonna start acting like true Americans, and clean our hearts from all this hatred? We are better than this people…We are better than this…
Hleb Hleb (b47c15) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:28 pmIt’s sad how some people choose to play the “if we pretend that everyone is equally good, then magically it will be true” card.
Icy Texan (780c03) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:39 pmCBS official statement includes: “It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.”
This is stated in a passive voice as if the attackers had no choice in the matter. Very typical for the liberal bias of the media.
I think this story is being played down by the media because it would interfere with the main media theme of having Obama causing great change in the Middle East. Of course, when things turn sour they got some explaining to do.
Furthermore, it is played down so as not to tar Egyptian men with too bad a stereotype.
Arizona Bob (e8af2b) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:42 pmHileb, the idea that the protests were Muslim was widely reported the entire time.
Also, they were almost entirely male. the way some Muslims treat women is a big part of the story. It’s an aspect CBS badly miscalculated, God bless them.
I don’t see the hatred of Muslims in reporting that as an aspect of this story. It is one. I do see hatred of women in many Muslim societies, and I hope you consider that. It’s pretty screwed up for you to complain about something which is truthful, IMO.
This is Egypt’s normal. Women aren’t safe there. It is inferior as a culture to the modern world, and I think the religious views of these people is a big part of the problem. That’s not to say Muslims have to treat women like dirt. I know first hand people who don’t, and yet see themselves as Muslim, much as I eat lobster and pork, but think I follow the Bible.
The first step is admitting the problem exists.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:43 pmI wonder what the reaction would have been if it happened to Anderson Cooper?!?!!
Look, this doesn’t happen in the civilized world. This doesn’t even happen when the Lakers win the NBA championship, or Mexico wins a round in the World Cup. Maybe just in a Detroit grade school, or to 13 year-olds in Banning, CA or Richmond, CA high school dance.
Yes, yes, I sound cold, but look…they send a pretty girl into revolution just so we will all watch her lovely face a few more minutes on their precious TV broadcast. And we are all supposed to suck our teeth and decry the madness that is Egyptian Islamists (the same ones who took machetes to German tourists, shoot at cruise ships, car bomb and bag bomb tourist locations, etc.
99% of the Muslim protesters were peaceful, because they were used to living in a regime where their violence would result in severe consequences. Any consequences for the rapists? We shall see, in the fullness of time.
TimesDisliker (99fb25) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:44 pmAnother great comment from Icy Texan, #35.
Arizona Bob (e8af2b) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:45 pmMy thoughts are along with Jan at #28. Couldn’t they have been a little more discrete in their press release. Instead of: “brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating” simply “a brutal assault”. In one way it’s a small thing, but it would have been something. The way they described it was almost voyeuresque.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:45 pmGee, the nut at Pandagon, Marcotte, misses the point
narciso (c8ccf1) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:50 pm“The invasion of privacy, the sensationalism of violence, and the lack of regard for the husband and small children who wait at home ….”
Huh? Invasion of whose privacy? Reporting what happened is sensationalism of violence?
“It’s sad how some people choose to play the “if we pretend that everyone is equally good, then magically it will be true” card.” Comment by Icy Texan
Arizona Bob (e8af2b) — 2/15/2011 @ 8:53 pmReports of women without sufficient protection being stripped and sexually assaulted in the middle of the street in Egypt are not unheard of; I seem to remember one a year or two back that involved sisters who were attacked by the gang, and only their begging for mercy made a nearby storekeeper watch and manage to drag them into his store before they were beaten unconscious.
Women fully wrapped, dressed western, with escorts, without– all that seems to matter is that the gangs believe they can win.
Foxfier (24dddb) — 2/15/2011 @ 9:11 pmThey never should have had her down in the square away from the Army, even if they were careful to keep the Army out of the shots.
Foxfier (24dddb) — 2/15/2011 @ 9:13 pmCome to think of it, CBS is ruining the “celebration” by reporting the incident. They really should have swept it under the rug, don’t you think?
Arizona Bob (e8af2b) — 2/15/2011 @ 9:13 pmThe various reports indicate that she was severely beaten as well, and injuries inflicted in that manner might account for her hospitalization.
shipwreckedcrew (436eab) — 2/15/2011 @ 9:22 pmwe should frankly know the full nature of the attack. we deserve to have full information about the nature of this protest movement.
if a group of tea partiers raped a reporter at a demonstration, would the press consider that relevant?
Aaron Worthing (73a7ea) — 2/15/2011 @ 9:33 pmBingo. Aaron you hit the nail on the head with that one.
Arizona Bob (e8af2b) — 2/15/2011 @ 9:39 pmIt’s easy to say I know this part of the world has many horrible people, but to contemplate a ‘peaceful’ protest where the masses would let this happen in their view is frankly blowing my mind.
It’s a bad thing that we are lionizing these protests at all. People are assuming they could recognize something like western democracy in this group’s dreams. Not if this is possible at their rally, we can’t.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 2/15/2011 @ 9:50 pmGreat, so these are the “revolutionaries” that we are supposed to be rooting for? You mean that 200 people were gathered around and no one stepped up to defend a helpless woman? Even if it happened in a small crowd, there must have been at least a dozen people who saw this happening and no one came to her rescue?
Why am I a whole lot less enthusiastic about this revolution than I was a few moments ago?
JVW (1a2602) — 2/15/2011 @ 11:03 pmThank you, Bob.
Icy Native Arizonan (a1f3e2) — 2/15/2011 @ 11:27 pmHere’s another disgusting reaction to this crime.
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/33031/how-muslims-celebrate-victory-egypts-peaceful-moderate-democratic-protesters/
time (aa4765) — 2/16/2011 @ 2:51 amEffing savages
Larry Braverman (72b0ed) — 2/16/2011 @ 3:14 amNir Rosen is a repulsive individual but he seems to have some spiritual kin posting here. A woman is sexually assaulted in Cairo and Mike K tells us that this should teach her and other women about gun rights and “left-wing governance” of American cities!? Other posters find an excuse to pin the savagery on the Egyptian protest movement at large, or, yet again, simply Muslims.
How about a simple condemnation of violence against women, an acknowledgment of the bravery of American journalists who have brought us this story, and an expression of concern for the person who has been hurt, along with good wishes for her recovery?
Angeleno (bc7c15) — 2/16/2011 @ 5:06 amIs this the first glimpse of Shariah law in Egypt? Think about it. If the animals who did this to her were members of the Muslim Brotherhood, or any Islamic fundamentalists for that matter, they may not have wanted to pass up the chance to attack a blond, female, western journalist with an uncovered head. This could be to send a message to tell the West of things to come. I don’t really see why even a politically motivated mob would want to do this. She was clearly a journalist and she undoubtedly told the people who she was, so why do it unless it was to send a warning or a message. These are animals we are dealing with and this incident only proves it.
Libertyship46 (9cbbfa) — 2/16/2011 @ 5:32 am#55
The news reports say Logan was rescued by Egyptians — women and Egyptian soldiers. Are they “animals” too?
Angeleno (bc7c15) — 2/16/2011 @ 5:59 ambut to contemplate a ‘peaceful’ protest where the masses would let this happen in their view is frankly blowing my mind.
I suspect such behavior in that area is so prevalent that it has become normalized: no men came to her rescue although the majority of celebrants/protesters were male. It took a group of 20 women to save her.
With men making up the vast the majority present, one is compelled to believe it was one of two things: either they were too fearful to put themselves at risk to save her or, they did not see anything wrong with the crimes being committed against her in broad daylight.
Other posters find an excuse to pin the savagery on the Egyptian protest movement at large, or, yet again, simply Muslims.
No one needs to *find* an excuse. The facts speak for themselves.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 2/16/2011 @ 6:04 amHey Angeleno,
Icy Texan (a1f3e2) — 2/16/2011 @ 6:16 amHow about a condemnation of violence against journalists, period? (Remember the FOX News reporter and cameraman — both male — that were severely beaten.) And while an argument might be made that ‘mob mentality’ played into these attacks, it is always good to explore issues in more depth. Doing something ‘simply’ can lead to simplistic conclusions. IOW, the tisk-tisk school of political analysis does not lend itself to thoughtful conclusions.
I blame Palin. And teabaggers.
JD (855f87) — 2/16/2011 @ 6:35 amI do not get the invasion of privacy claims. Do the say that when the media is having a feeding frenzy over the latest scandal du jour?
JD (855f87) — 2/16/2011 @ 6:43 amNir Rosen has offered his resignation, and NYU Center for Law and Security accepted it.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 2/16/2011 @ 7:33 amthanks, scott. that is in the update post now.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 2/16/2011 @ 7:38 amMaybe that is the problem with Twitter, and the internet in general: people just say whatever, without thought. I’m not advocating censorship. I am advocating that people think before they post—Rosen seemed to be all about Teh Snark, and that was going to happen, sooner or later.
It’s one thing to say awful stuff in private, another thing to do so in public.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 2/16/2011 @ 7:40 amsimon
but that is the same problem we have with email. and twitter just makes your stupidity more like you accidentally hit “reply to all people on the planet.”
which is not to say you are wrong. think before you tweet, email, etc. But… there isn’t much excuse for not knowing that in this day and age. we are beyond the point where i consider that excusable stupidity.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 2/16/2011 @ 7:54 amHey Angeleno (#56),
Maybe if these crack Egyptian troops had kept some order in the first place this would not have happened at all!!! And why didn’t MORE people there stop this attack from happening? Why did it take troops to stop it? Yes, this sure was a “peaceful” revolution, wasn’t it.
Libertyship46 (9cbbfa) — 2/16/2011 @ 9:52 amSo the next time there’s one of those Kitty Genovese-type cases in the US where someone is attacked in broad daylight and nobody stops to help, that proves that all Americans are savages, right? And not only that, but it proves Christianity is an essentially misogynistic religion, and that there can be no such thing as a peaceful society in America or any other Christian country. I mean, yes, Bryan Fischer and Fred Phelps might not personally commit this attack, but the attack would prove that they are completely representative of all Americans. Just like how this attack definitely proves that the Muslim Brotherhood are behind something or other, probably.
And we’ll all ruefully shake our heads and say that, having established America can never be a peaceful and progressive country, maybe we need to bomb it until it learns to behave itself.
Or would that be totally different, for some reason?
Der Bruno Stroszek (0449a4) — 2/19/2011 @ 3:24 amDer Babble Shtick! ^^^
Icy Texan (0428cb) — 2/19/2011 @ 3:28 am