Hollywood star Sean Penn is refusing to apologize for his fact-finding mission to Iraq, despite rousing anger amongst some of his US contemporaries. The former bad-boy actor is violating a US law forbidding Americans to visit the war-torn country, but says his three-day journey there was something he felt “obligated” to do. Penn says, “My trip is to personally record the human face of the Iraqi people so that their blood, along with that of American soldiers, would not be invisible on my own hands.” The I Am Sam star has spoken out about US policy towards the Middle Eastern country and about what he sees as the prescriptive political opinions of his own countrymen. He adds, “(People) have a raw nerve towards an American who has a view expressing it on foreign soil, a view that conflicts with that of many American people.” Penn, 42, visited schools, hospitals and officials to judge the effects that US trade embargoes had upon Iraq. He concludes, “I don’t think it’s a political statement to acknowledge that the sanctions have been devastating.” Penn’s trip was primarily to highlight the reality of the country where imminent war with the US – something which the actor vehemently opposes – is very possible. He says, “A war is not inevitable. If there is a war or continued sanctions against Iraq the blood of Americans and Iraqis alike will be on our hands.”