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Colonel Casanova?
Aired June 11, 2003 - 14:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right.
Instead of hugging one colonel's neck, a lot of women would like to wring it. While on duty in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Colonel Kassam Salah allegedly romanced more than 50 women over the Internet. Did I mention that he also proposed to most of them? And did I tell you he was already married? I guess you probably could have predicted that one.
One of the women Salah allegedly proposed to is Robin Solage. She joins us from New York to tell her story.
Robin, good to have you with us.
ROBIN SOLOD, SAYS MARRIED SOLDIER PROPOSED TO HER: Hi. Nice to see you.
O'BRIEN: And I just want to say at the outset, we did try to get a hold of the colonel and he didn't want to participate in this discussion in any way, shape, or form. So we'll put that down as a no comment.
SOLOD: Right.
O'BRIEN: Robin, how did you discover that you -- the love or the apparent love you received via e-mail was not necessarily what it seemed to be?
SOLOD: One day I decided to see what he was doing in Afghanistan, and I typed in his name on a search engine, on the Netcrawler (ph) search engine and it came up that he was engaged to be married. It said Kathy Richardson in Twin Cities was waiting for her boyfriend to come home from Afghanistan.
O'BRIEN: So, in other words, somebody in the media had done a story about this girl waiting in the Twin Cities...
SOLOD: Right.
O'BRIEN: ...for him to come back. And the problem was it didn't have anything to do with you.
SOLOD: Right. Right. Absolutely. It had nothing to do with me. Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: Had he proposed to you? SOLOD: He proposed to me on the phone. He asked me if I'd like to get married. Just -- he was the most intoxicating man I had ever met.
O'BRIEN: Really?
SOLOD: He wrote me letters that were better than Yeats, than Browning of how he wanted to spend the rest of my life -- our lives together. It was absolutely incredible. Love letters, poems, constantly calling me on his satellite phone...
O'BRIEN: Wow.
SOLOD: ...from Kabul, wherever he was and -- just to find out there were 50 other people is incredible.
O'BRIEN: So Casanova does really apply here, I guess.
Let's -- I want to give people a few excerpts here of his...
SOLOD: Sure.
O'BRIEN: ... writing ability.
"You are my world, my life, my love and my universe." This guy could write romance novels.
SOLOD: Oh, yes. Big time.
O'BRIEN: "it's like my mother used to say in Arabic when I was a little boy -- Yi Yunni (my eyes), Ya hyyetti (my Love), Ya elbee (my heart), Ya umree (my life)." Wow.
And then there's this one. Well that one we've already told you.
But the third one is a good one. "I dream of a day where I will take a walk home to a place that brings my heart peace and joy because at the end of my journey, my lover, my friend, my life waits for me. I love you so much, sweetheart."
Well, you know, I can see, Robin, why you'd be swept off your feet. That's a man who has a gift.
SOLOD: Big time, Miles. Big time.
O'BRIEN: It's just that fidelity doesn't appear to be one of the gifts.
SOLOD: No, well that was lacking. That was totally lacking. Absolutely. It was a total betrayal.
But in addition, he sent my highly confidential documents. Just -- all of us women, the 50 women, a lot of them didn't want to come forward. They were embarrassed. But I didn't have any compunction about doing that. We hope that -- you know, the army does something about this. O'BRIEN: Yes, now, when you say "we", have you guys kind of banded together? You have a strange thing linking yourself together. And, you know, is there some jealously there? I mean, he...
SOLOD: No.
O'BRIEN: He proposed to me kind first kind of stuff?
SOLOD: Well, I don't feel that way because I know he's a sociopath and he's crazy. But the other women -- you know, everyone is like -- everyone thinks that she was No. 1 or that she was special -- and don't forget I think 13 women in the past six months have met him. Thirteen of the women have met him.
Now, all through our correspondence I had no idea that he was home at Bragg. He said he was over in Afghanistan.
O'BRIEN: So the satellite phone was from somewhere in the United States, perhaps?
SOLOD: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: Now just a little bit of backstory here. You all --- the thing you have in common is you went to a place called tall...
SOLOD: Personals.
O'BRIEN: Tallpersonals.com
SOLOD: Right.
O'BRIEN: Personal ads, Internet dating service for taller people.
SOLOD: Right. Right.
O'BRIEN: And we'll bring it up on the screen for you there so you can just see it.
And I've got to ask you this question and -- you know, don't get me wrong here. But don't you think it's a little bit odd to accept a proposal for marriage from somebody you haven't met and you're just trading e-mails and satellite phone calls with?
SOLOD: In retrospect, Miles, of course. You have to be crazy to do that. And I see that in retrospect. But at the time one gets totally caught up in this Cinderella fairytale-like existence with this wonderful man that's going to just carry you off to the future and live happily ever after. You only got a small dose of the letters.
O'BRIEN: Yes. So you...
SOLOD: The poems.
O'BRIEN: You were living a romance novel, weren't you? SOLOD: Yes. Yes. And he's Palestinian-Lebanese and I'm divorced from an Egyptian and I love that culture and we're both originally from Brooklyn so I really felt a great connection to him.
O'BRIEN: All right, Robin. What is the appropriate justice here?
SOLOD: What is the appropriate justice?
O'BRIEN: Yes. What would you like to see happen? How should he pay for these alleged transgressions?
SOLOD: I think he should be court-martialed. I think he should leave the military. They should be given an early retirement. I don't want the army to slap him on the wrist and say, Bad boy. You know, because the army -- you know, they're sexist. They sweep everything under the carpet and they'll feel that we're just a bunch of disgruntled women.
And that is not the case. Yes, we are not disgruntled but 50 women got e-mails that had highly sensitive information. I got one picture where there was a motorcycle with a bomb on the back. And he said I'm investigating this. Don't send this to anyone.
O'BRIEN: And has the army so far been at all receptive to your pleas?
SOLOD: Well I called up Mr. Haynes yesterday in the inspector general out of Fort Bragg. It was very nice. He said there was going to be an investigation from the Colonel Salah's commanding officer.
And then I proceeded to ask him if he knew Colonel Salah and he said yes, he did. Duh. You know, like what does that mean? So the old boys club. You know, I don't feel confident.
O'BRIEN: Beware. Beware of the old boy's club. What's the moral of the story, Robin?
SOLOD: The moral of the story if you're looking for love online, I think it's out there but do not believe people if they tell you -- until you meet them and know them. Because you -- a lot is at stake.
O'BRIEN: Robin Solod, that is an understatement of the day. A lot is at stake. And we're sorry...
SOLOD: And I'm dating again! I went to J-Date (ph).
O'BRIEN: Good. And I hope you met him in the flesh and he is what he says he is.
SOLOD: Well, we'll soon see.
O'BRIEN: All right. Good luck to you, Robin. Thanks for being with us.
SOLOD: Thanks, Miles. O'BRIEN: Telling a story, and we'll keep all our viewers posted on the exploits of Colonel Casanova. Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 11, 2003 - 14:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right.
Instead of hugging one colonel's neck, a lot of women would like to wring it. While on duty in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Colonel Kassam Salah allegedly romanced more than 50 women over the Internet. Did I mention that he also proposed to most of them? And did I tell you he was already married? I guess you probably could have predicted that one.
One of the women Salah allegedly proposed to is Robin Solage. She joins us from New York to tell her story.
Robin, good to have you with us.
ROBIN SOLOD, SAYS MARRIED SOLDIER PROPOSED TO HER: Hi. Nice to see you.
O'BRIEN: And I just want to say at the outset, we did try to get a hold of the colonel and he didn't want to participate in this discussion in any way, shape, or form. So we'll put that down as a no comment.
SOLOD: Right.
O'BRIEN: Robin, how did you discover that you -- the love or the apparent love you received via e-mail was not necessarily what it seemed to be?
SOLOD: One day I decided to see what he was doing in Afghanistan, and I typed in his name on a search engine, on the Netcrawler (ph) search engine and it came up that he was engaged to be married. It said Kathy Richardson in Twin Cities was waiting for her boyfriend to come home from Afghanistan.
O'BRIEN: So, in other words, somebody in the media had done a story about this girl waiting in the Twin Cities...
SOLOD: Right.
O'BRIEN: ...for him to come back. And the problem was it didn't have anything to do with you.
SOLOD: Right. Right. Absolutely. It had nothing to do with me. Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: Had he proposed to you? SOLOD: He proposed to me on the phone. He asked me if I'd like to get married. Just -- he was the most intoxicating man I had ever met.
O'BRIEN: Really?
SOLOD: He wrote me letters that were better than Yeats, than Browning of how he wanted to spend the rest of my life -- our lives together. It was absolutely incredible. Love letters, poems, constantly calling me on his satellite phone...
O'BRIEN: Wow.
SOLOD: ...from Kabul, wherever he was and -- just to find out there were 50 other people is incredible.
O'BRIEN: So Casanova does really apply here, I guess.
Let's -- I want to give people a few excerpts here of his...
SOLOD: Sure.
O'BRIEN: ... writing ability.
"You are my world, my life, my love and my universe." This guy could write romance novels.
SOLOD: Oh, yes. Big time.
O'BRIEN: "it's like my mother used to say in Arabic when I was a little boy -- Yi Yunni (my eyes), Ya hyyetti (my Love), Ya elbee (my heart), Ya umree (my life)." Wow.
And then there's this one. Well that one we've already told you.
But the third one is a good one. "I dream of a day where I will take a walk home to a place that brings my heart peace and joy because at the end of my journey, my lover, my friend, my life waits for me. I love you so much, sweetheart."
Well, you know, I can see, Robin, why you'd be swept off your feet. That's a man who has a gift.
SOLOD: Big time, Miles. Big time.
O'BRIEN: It's just that fidelity doesn't appear to be one of the gifts.
SOLOD: No, well that was lacking. That was totally lacking. Absolutely. It was a total betrayal.
But in addition, he sent my highly confidential documents. Just -- all of us women, the 50 women, a lot of them didn't want to come forward. They were embarrassed. But I didn't have any compunction about doing that. We hope that -- you know, the army does something about this. O'BRIEN: Yes, now, when you say "we", have you guys kind of banded together? You have a strange thing linking yourself together. And, you know, is there some jealously there? I mean, he...
SOLOD: No.
O'BRIEN: He proposed to me kind first kind of stuff?
SOLOD: Well, I don't feel that way because I know he's a sociopath and he's crazy. But the other women -- you know, everyone is like -- everyone thinks that she was No. 1 or that she was special -- and don't forget I think 13 women in the past six months have met him. Thirteen of the women have met him.
Now, all through our correspondence I had no idea that he was home at Bragg. He said he was over in Afghanistan.
O'BRIEN: So the satellite phone was from somewhere in the United States, perhaps?
SOLOD: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: Now just a little bit of backstory here. You all --- the thing you have in common is you went to a place called tall...
SOLOD: Personals.
O'BRIEN: Tallpersonals.com
SOLOD: Right.
O'BRIEN: Personal ads, Internet dating service for taller people.
SOLOD: Right. Right.
O'BRIEN: And we'll bring it up on the screen for you there so you can just see it.
And I've got to ask you this question and -- you know, don't get me wrong here. But don't you think it's a little bit odd to accept a proposal for marriage from somebody you haven't met and you're just trading e-mails and satellite phone calls with?
SOLOD: In retrospect, Miles, of course. You have to be crazy to do that. And I see that in retrospect. But at the time one gets totally caught up in this Cinderella fairytale-like existence with this wonderful man that's going to just carry you off to the future and live happily ever after. You only got a small dose of the letters.
O'BRIEN: Yes. So you...
SOLOD: The poems.
O'BRIEN: You were living a romance novel, weren't you? SOLOD: Yes. Yes. And he's Palestinian-Lebanese and I'm divorced from an Egyptian and I love that culture and we're both originally from Brooklyn so I really felt a great connection to him.
O'BRIEN: All right, Robin. What is the appropriate justice here?
SOLOD: What is the appropriate justice?
O'BRIEN: Yes. What would you like to see happen? How should he pay for these alleged transgressions?
SOLOD: I think he should be court-martialed. I think he should leave the military. They should be given an early retirement. I don't want the army to slap him on the wrist and say, Bad boy. You know, because the army -- you know, they're sexist. They sweep everything under the carpet and they'll feel that we're just a bunch of disgruntled women.
And that is not the case. Yes, we are not disgruntled but 50 women got e-mails that had highly sensitive information. I got one picture where there was a motorcycle with a bomb on the back. And he said I'm investigating this. Don't send this to anyone.
O'BRIEN: And has the army so far been at all receptive to your pleas?
SOLOD: Well I called up Mr. Haynes yesterday in the inspector general out of Fort Bragg. It was very nice. He said there was going to be an investigation from the Colonel Salah's commanding officer.
And then I proceeded to ask him if he knew Colonel Salah and he said yes, he did. Duh. You know, like what does that mean? So the old boys club. You know, I don't feel confident.
O'BRIEN: Beware. Beware of the old boy's club. What's the moral of the story, Robin?
SOLOD: The moral of the story if you're looking for love online, I think it's out there but do not believe people if they tell you -- until you meet them and know them. Because you -- a lot is at stake.
O'BRIEN: Robin Solod, that is an understatement of the day. A lot is at stake. And we're sorry...
SOLOD: And I'm dating again! I went to J-Date (ph).
O'BRIEN: Good. And I hope you met him in the flesh and he is what he says he is.
SOLOD: Well, we'll soon see.
O'BRIEN: All right. Good luck to you, Robin. Thanks for being with us.
SOLOD: Thanks, Miles. O'BRIEN: Telling a story, and we'll keep all our viewers posted on the exploits of Colonel Casanova. Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
