Two Ex-KBR Employees Say They Were Raped by Co-Workers in Iraq : Indybay

Another female employee of the military contractor KBR has come forward with allegations of rape in Iraq. In an interview with The Nation magazine last week, a woman identified by the pseudonym Lisa Smith says two colleagues raped her at a southern Iraqi military base in January. Smith says a supervisor told her to “keep quiet” or face danger.

Last year, former KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones sued KBR and its former parent company Halliburton after she says she was drugged and gang-raped by employees of the company in Baghdad. Jones recounted that after she was raped, the company put her in a shipping container without food or water for at least 24 hours. She was also warned that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she”d be out of a job.

Jones has said that 38 other female contractors have privately come forward with their own stories of sexual harassment and abuse in Iraq and other countries. A criminal probe into Jones”s case has lasted more than two-and-a-half years. No charges have been filed.

Today, in their first joint interview, we speak to both of these women who have bravely come forward with their stories. Lisa Smith, as we will call her to protect her privacy, will be testifying publicly tomorrow before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She joins me on the phone from Texas. And Jamie Leigh Jones joins me on the line from San Diego. She is the founder and director of the Jamie Leigh Foundation, which assists U.S. citizens victimized by government contractors or other corporations while working abroad. She has testified twice before Congress and spoken out in the media about her case.

I’m also joined on the line by their attorneys—for Lisa Smith, Dan Ross. And for Jamie Leigh Jones, Todd Kelly. And joining me from Baltimore, Maryland is Karen Houppert. She broke the story of Lisa Smith”s rape allegations for the Nation Magazine. The article is called “Another KBR Rape Case”, posted at The Nation.com. Her latest book is “Home Fires Burning: Married to the Military For Better or Worse.”

"Lisa Smith", former employee of the military contractor KBR. She has come forward with allegations of rape by her co-workers in Iraq.

Jamie Leigh Jones, has filed a civil suit against Halliburton and its former subsidiary KBR for an alleged drugging and gang rape by employees of the company in Baghdad. No charges have been filed in her case so far and she has accused both KBR and the Justice Department of a cover-up. She is founder of the Jamie Leigh Foundation, which aims to help U.S. citizens victimized by government contractors or other corporations working overseas.

Karen Houppert, she broke the story of Lisa Smith’s rape allegations for the Nation Magazine. The article is called “Another
KBR Rape Case." Her latest book is “Home Fires Burning: Married to the Military For Better or Worse.”

Two Ex-KBR Employees Say They Were Raped by Co-Workers in Iraq

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