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NATONSKI

NOV 11 2004
Natonski said troops have found weapons caches and fortifications in nearly every mosque they’ve entered. They’ve found bomb-making factories and weapons- repair facilities in mosques and been shot at from minarets. They have also found weapons staged in schools, he said.

“This is the enemy that we fight,” he said. “He does not respect the religious mosques or the children’s schools.”

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=24854
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NOV 12 2004
‘Mosques’ Again Exploited as Forts

Militants have been using mosques as military strongpoints, he said.

“In almost ever single mosque in Fallujah, we have found an arms cache,” Natonski said. “We have found IED-making [bomb-making] factories. We have found fortifications. We’ve been shot at by snipers from minarets.”

Natonski said he visited a “slaughterhouse” in the northern Jolan neighborhood where hostages were held and possibly killed by militants. He described a small room with no windows, two thin mattresses, blood-soaked straw mats and a wheelchair apparently used to transport captives.

U.S. officials believe the al-Qaida-linked terror movement of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who claimed responsibility for many of the kidnappings and beheadings of foreign hostages, used Fallujah as a base. They said they believe al-Zarqawi might have slipped away before the offensive.

Also, a Fox News reporter embedded with India Company of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment said the unit found five bodies in a locked house in northwest Fallujah on Wednesday. All were shot in the back of the head. Their identities were not known, although there were indications they were civilians, the report said.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/11/12/154729.shtml
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DEC 6 2006

The congressmen spoke after Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski gave a one-hour, closed-door briefing to the House Armed Services Committee on the military’s investigations and the next steps.

“I think all of us in there were struck by the incident, the number of civilians involved, and the extent of the tragedy,” said Udall. “There are some questions that still have to be answered, but it appeared the rules of engagement hadn’t been followed.”

The congressmen were asked not to speak publicly about the military’s findings, and Natonski declined to give details. The Marine Corps confirmed Tuesday that prosecutors are finalizing charges.

“I’m just updating Congress,” Natonski said. Asked about any criminal charges, he said, “We’re looking at it soon.”
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MAR 19 2007

Once the Marines realized that American soldiers were trapped behind enemy lines, Brigadier General Richard Natonski ordered Colonel Grabowski to accelerate his attack and he concluded with, “We have to do what we can to save those soldiers. They would do it for us.”

http://hnn.us/articles/35869.html