Exxon Mobil is also the object of a lawsuit filed on behalf of villagers who accuse the company of turning a blind eye to brutality by Indonesian soldiers, who have a long history of human rights abuses and have been paid to ensure the plant's security. The company denies the charges. But the suit and Exxon Mobil's travails in Indonesia encapsulate the problems faced by big companies that do business under the protection of ill-trained foreign armies, in places where the United States has strategic interests.