Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Teenager apologizes for Iraq trip

In an interview, he thanks the U.S. military for keeping him safe and says he hopes others won't copy his trip.

FORT LAUDERDALE - An American teenager who skipped school to travel to Iraq by himself apologized to the U.S. military for causing a "tremendous amount of trouble" and said he fears others may try to copy his dangerous journey into a war zone.

Farris Hassan, speaking to MSNBC, also said he interviewed a member of Hezbollah in Lebanon during his sojourn to the Middle East last month.

Hassan, 16, arrived home from Iraq on Jan. 1 and returned to his prep school in Fort Lauderdale.

"I have seen many a headline stating, "Farris Hassan's Week Off,"' the teen told the cable network. "I am worried that with the media coverage they may have glorified what I did. And I will feel so guilty if some copycats go to Iraq and cause the military all kinds of trouble. And God forbid one of them gets their heads cut off."

Hassan said he felt "sheepish" because of all the assistance he received from the U.S. military, which helped keep him safe after he made his presence in Iraq known.

"I want to apologize for all the inconvenience I caused them, and I want to sincerely thank all the soldiers who risked their lives trying to get me out of Iraq and keep me safe."

Hassan said his mother had no idea he was going to Iraq, and he felt guilty for the "grief I have caused my family." He said his father "knew a bit more than my mother," though not all of his plans.

Hassan skipped school when he began his travels Dec. 11. He was able to secure an entry visa for Iraq because his parents were born there. After arriving in Kuwait, he stayed with family friends in Lebanon until he could fly into Baghdad on Dec. 25. On Dec. 27 he contacted the Associated Press bureau in Baghdad and related his story. The AP contacted the U.S. Embassy.

Hassan said in the MSNBC interview that he got to interview a Hezbollah media relations officer for about two hours in Beirut, asking him about the Iraq war and Lebanese politics.

"With each group I immersed myself, I changed my persona," he said. "When I was with the Christians, I told them I was a Lebanese Christian - an American Christian with Lebanese parents and that my name was Jason.

"And when I met with the Hezbollah leader, I gave him the impression that I wanted to paint Hezbollah in a good light when I returned to the United States."

However, he criticized his own work as a journalist.

"In fact, I think I did a pretty poor job as an immersion journalist," he said. "Normally, an immersion journalist would learn the language and spend probably a year in the country and have several connections."

[Last modified January 10, 2006, 01:51:15]