My wife knows two people who were on base when this incident occurred. Apparently, it led to a alcohol ban that pissed everybody off and led to some hostile feelings towards Miss Leigh, who was under 21 and should not have been drinking in any case. She does believe she was raped though and keeps a close eye on any beverage because of it. The fact that KBR responded by banning alcohol indicates they that they thought there was something to the girl’s story. Whatever happened it needs to be worked out in criminal court, not some arbitration hearing where the main concern is CYA.
Well, the problem is there was really no civilian criminal jurisdiction over there at the time. In the summer of '05 everything was still under the military which left contractors out of their jurisdiction. The rules for contractors were mostly their obligations to their employers, their contract and the military.
General Order One was geared more towards not offending the Iraqis than anything else. Of course she violated that by drinking and would be grounds for dismissal. Her confinement could be viewed in that light although probably not the cause of it.
Essentially, the civil courts is the only recourse for her and it's quite difficult to move a civil case without a criminal case supporting it.
I can see why she went political and MSM as she needs some push to move her civil case(s) forward. It'll be messy and doesn't make KBR look good so I'd guess they'll settle out of court. Sounds like she never made it to the KBR housing office as they would have billeted her in a female area.
I think there's enough there and she's pretty enough for the media to make a feast of it (Abu-Gharib meets Natalie Holloway). I know some people in the IZ referred to KBR employees as "Carnies" as in carnival employees; an apparent allusion to their character. My impression is they were generally sub-standard and were prone to take advantage of a lack of management. Imo it was always a management issue, as in none present.
Even though KBR employees are at fault I believe KBR would be wise to settle post haste.