Penn joins anti-war lobby

Actor Sean Penn has become the latest Hollywood celebrity to get involved in attempts to stop a US war in Iraq.

Penn visited a Baghdad children’s hospital saying he came to Iraq for a better understanding of the crisis with the United States.

In a statement he said: “I’m here for a simple reason, which is because I’m a patriot and an American who has benefited enormously from being an American, and because I had areas of personal concern and conscience that led me to come to Iraq... And if there’s going to be blood on my hands, I’m determined that it’s not going to be invisible.”

Maverick Penn’s three-day visit to Iraq was organised by the Institute for Public Accuracy which has offices in Washington and San Francisco.

Penn was nominated for an Oscar last year for his role as a disabled dad in I Am Sam. He next stars in Clint Eastwood’s new film Mystic River.