...attorneys have...[filed] ATCA [Alien Tort Claims Act] cases seeking to hold American companies responsible for abetting the worst crimes overseas—like torture, forced labor, and genocide...The [US] administration argues that the suits will damage America’s relations with other countries and impede the war on terror. In one letter obtained by Mother Jones, the State Department’s legal adviser...claimed that an ATCA suit against mining giant Rio Tinto’s operations in Papua New Guinea would damage “an important United States foreign policy objective”...[refers to cases brought against Unocal, Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, Chevron (part of ChevronTexaco)]