Retired Army officer blasts Biden administration's decision not to name ISIS terrorists killed in Afghanistan drone strike

 A retired officer with the U.S. Army has blasted the Biden administration's decision not to name two ISIS terrorists killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan on Friday.

Lt. Col. Brian F. Sullivan, who was involved with the withdrawal of soldiers from Vietnam in the 1970s, told the New York Post that the choice not to name the terrorists means that they were not considered high-value targets.

However, he conceded that it was also possible the Pentagon had decided not to reveal the names not to jeopardize future missions to other large targets.

'Normally if they get a high-profile guy they like to name him,' Sullivan said. 

He added: 'They keep talking BS about 'eyes over the horizon' but I think a lot of this is the administration blowing more smoke.'

'They're throwing this up as if the US is reacting with strength and power. So that makes the score something like ISIS 200-US two. Who are they kidding?' 

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Lt. Col. Brian F. Sullivan, left, blasted the Biden administration's decision not to name two ISIS terrorists killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan after Major Gen. William Taylor, right, referred to the two dead terrorists as a 'planner' and 'facilitator' of the attack on the Kabul airport

Sullivan noted that the Pentagon 'must have known' who the planner of the ISIS suicide bombing attack in Kabul was before it happened because the U.S. was able to quickly strike them down by drone. 

'If they knew about this why didn't they drone the sonofab***h beforehand? They are flat-a** lying to us,' Sullivan said.

Sullivan's comments come after Major Gen. William Taylor simply referred to the two dead terrorists as a 'planner' and 'facilitator' of the horrific attack on the Hamid Karzai International Airport which left 13 U.S. troops and at least 90 Afghans dead.

Taylor did not reveal if the dead terrorists had played specific roles in the attack, which was conducted by Islamic State Khorasan, known as ISIS-K. 

President Joe Biden released a statement on Saturday morning after meeting with his national security team in Washington. 

'I said we would go after the group responsible for the attack on our troops and innocent civilians in Kabul, and we have,' Biden said in the statement.

'This strike was not the last. We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay. Whenever anyone seeks to harm the United States or attack our troops, we will respond. That will never be in doubt.'

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Afghans lie on beds at a hospital after they were wounded in the deadly attacks outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday

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Afghans lie on beds at a hospital after they were wounded in the deadly attacks outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday

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Hundreds of people gather, some holding documents, near an evacuation control checkpoint on the perimeter of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul on Thursday

Biden said in the statement that the threat of terrorist attacks on the Kabul airport remains high and that attacks are 'highly likely' in the next 24-36 hours. 

The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan issued a security alert on Saturday for Americans who remain near the airport.

'Due to a specific, credible threat, all U.S. citizens in the vicinity of Kabul airport ... should leave the airport area immediately,' the alert reads.

Biden said that the United States continues to evacuate civilians from the war-torn country and retrieved 6,800 people, including hundreds of Americans, on Friday.

'Today, we discussed the ongoing preparations to help people continue to leave Afghanistan after our military departs,' Biden said.