Mark Kirk: “Today we have received tantalizing reports that Pakistani authorities may be close to arresting Osama bin Laden's…”

“Today we have received tantalizing reports that Pakistani authorities may be close to arresting Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri. We do not know if this is true, but we do know that hundreds of American men and women in uniform are currently risking their lives as part of Operation Mountain Storm to arrest high-level terrorists in the critical border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. This border region was the safe haven for the world's most wanted man. Osama bin Laden lived there for many years since his first visit to the region during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. This January, I conducted a mission to this region to review the operations of the State Department's terrorist rewards program. This program was highly successful in helping the arrest of key international criminals important to the United States. The program led to the arrest, capture, or death of two-thirds of U.N. war criminals in Bosnia. It led to the arrest, prosecution, and execution of Mir Aimal Kasi who killed many Americans outside the CIA gate in Virginia. By the way, Mr. Kasi was arrested in the very region of Pakistan receiving so much attention today. The program also led to the arrest and death of Uday and Qusay Hussein, the two Hussein brothers, sons of Saddam Hussein. As a congressional staffer, I drafted the bill that lifted the rewards program from 5 to $25 million and allowed its use against U.N. war criminals.”