A member of the newly formed Iraqi National Assembly has accused U.S. soldiers of abusing him at a U.S.-run checkpoint. The Shiite lawmaker Fattah al-Sheik said a U.S. soldier kicked his car, mocked the legislature, handcuffed him and held him by the neck. Al-Sheik said “This shows that the democracy we are enjoying is fake. Through such incidents, the U.S. Army tries to show that they are the real controlling power in the country, not the new Iraqi government, and that they can impose their rules on every Iraqi.” U.S. forces said they were investigating the incident.