I dunno. I’m of the opinion that if the Taliban had taken American Special Forces prisoner they would be shouting it to from the mountaintops, not denying it.
I wanna be an Arden Ranger
I wanna live a life of danger…
The Taliban might want to deny it because they still hope to get out of this thing without being bombed, or without having the U.S. throw all of our support behind the Northern Alliance. If Osama Bin Dover did capture a team, I’ll bet there will be video very soon. He’ll want to “show the world” how he can outsmart the Superpower. Of course if he did capture a team and he does anything to them, that might have repercussions he doesn’t want to deal with at the moment; so he might just keep them under wraps for later use.
I doubt somehow things could get much worse for bin Laden.
Yeah, he’s already wanted for mass-murder. But strategically he seems to be doing okay. If he does have our men, that would tell us things. Where were they captured? That would indicate activity in that sector. How did he capture five highly-trained, formidably-armed specialists? That could indicate a superior force in that sector and/or good intelligence-gathering. He wouldn’t want us to know how many fighters he has or how they’re dispersed. He’d also not want us to know how good his intelligence network is. If I were in his position, I wouldn’t say anything – not a confirmation, and not a denial.
But they may prove useful pawns if he has them. Remember the pilots who were killed in Somalia? Video showed their bodies being dragged through the streets. That ultimately resulted in our withdrawal from the region. Not that I think we’d withdraw in this case, but I’m sure it would be something on his mind if he does have them.
I don’t know exactly what “he’d have to deal with at the moment”, but then I don’t know how he thinks.