**PHOTOS* -- Images of the 'unilateral' liberation of Iraq

Tue Mar 25, 4:10 PM ET

Iraqi children collect food parcels distributed by British Royal Marines, from 42 Commando, as they bring the first humanitarian aid to Umm Qasr, southern Iraq (news - web sites), Tuesday March 25 2003. The Marines entered the city on Monday and have been tasked to secure the port town so further aid can be delivered. (AP Photo Jon Mills, Pool)


	Royal British Marines, of the 40th Commando, Omar Rawlings, 20, left, Del Morton, 24, center, and Jim Morton shelter in their foxhole after heavy rains, in the al-Faw peninsula, near Basra, Iraq (news - web sites), Tuesday March 25, 2003. (AP Photo/Terry Richards, Pool) - Mar 25 5:27 PM ET

	Members of the Royal British Marines 40th Commando prepare to launch a mortar towards Basra, Iraq (news - web sites) Tuesday March 25, 2003. (AP Photo/Terry Richards, Pool) - Mar 25 5:29 PM ET


	Members of 40 Commando Royal British Marines walk in the al-Faw peninsula, near Basra, Iraq (news - web sites) after heavy rainstorms Tuesday March 25, 2003. (AP Photo/Terry Richards, Pool) - Mar 25 5:16 PM ET

	Members of 40 Commando Royal Marines prepare to launch a mortar towards Basra, Iraq (news - web sites) Tuesday March 25, 2003. (AP Photo/Terry Richards, Pool) - Mar 25 5:11 PM ET


	A member of the Australian diving mine clearance team talks to an Australian soldier in Umm Qasr, in southern Iraq (news - web sites) Tuesday March 25, 2003. The divers were carrying out mine clearance work on the harbor which will be used for the coalition's humanitarian work. (AP Photo/PA, Andrew Parsons) - Mar 25 4:52 PM ET

A wounded member of the British forces is taken on a stretcher by 1 Close Support Medical Regiment to be flown out in a Puma helicopter near Basra, in southern Iraq (news - web sites), March 25, 2003. The British military said they believed citizens of Basra were rising up against the rule of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), but an Iraqi minister denied a revolt was underway in Iraq's second city. Photo by Pool/Reuters
- Mar 25 4:49 PM ET


	Soldiers from the Desert Rats stand guard in front of a mosque after entering the enclave of Az zubayr, west of Basra in southern Iraq (news - web sites), Tuesday March 25, 2003. (AP Photo/Mark Richards/Daily Mail/Pool) - Mar 25 4:06 PM ET


	British medics carry a wounded soldier to be flown out from 1 CS Medical Regiment based near Basra, southern Iraq (news - web sites), in a Puma helicopter(AFP-Pool/Dan Chung) - Mar 25 3:51 PM ET

Royal Air Force troops don gas masks during an air raid warning in Kuwait, March 21, 2003. U.S. and British troops were equipped to deal with most threats posed by chemical and biological weapons, officials said on March 25, amid reports Iraq (news - web sites) had authorized use of such arms in defense of Baghdad. The troops have NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protection suits and respirators and are provided with medication to inject themselves with if they are exposed to threats such as mustard gas and the nerve agents sarin and VX. (Russell Boyce/Reuters)
- Mar 25 3:25 PM ET

Soldiers attached to Britain's 3 Army Air Corps patrol the desert around the oil fields of north Ramaila in Iraq (news - web sites), during a sandstorm, March 25, 2003. Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) said on Tuesday he would visit the U.S. for talks with President George W. Bush (news - web sites) and United Nations (news - web sites) Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) on Iraq and its future after the war. REUTERS/Ian Jones/POOL
- Mar 25 2:34 PM ET

British soldiers patrol the desert around the oil fields of north Ramaila in Iraq (news - web sites), during a sandstorm, March 25, 2003. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday intelligence information he has received indicates Iraqi military forces may use chemical weapons against U.S.-led invasion forces as they close in on Baghdad. Photo by Pool/Reuters
- Mar 25 2:24 PM ET

Soldiers from the Desert Rats stand with captured enemy weapons after entering the enclave of Azzubayr, west of Basra in southern Iraq (news - web sites), March 25, 2003. British forces have declared parts of the southern Iraqi city of Basra 'military targets.' They will take on militia fighters preventing them from securing Iraq's second-largest city. (AP Photo/Mark Richards, Pool)
- Mar 25 2:24 PM ET


	An Iraqi girl collects water handed out by U.S. soldiers in the southern Iraqi town of Umm Qasr, March 24, 2003. A British ship carrying vital humanitarian aid for southern Iraq (news - web sites) will arrive on Wednesday at the port of Umm Qasr, where food and water have become dangerously scarce, British military officials said. (Jerry Lampen/Reuters) - Mar 25 1:29 PM ET

	Iraqis collect water handed out by U.S. soldiers in the southern Iraq (news - web sites) town of Umm Qasr, March 24, 2003. Warplanes hammered elite Republican Guards defending Baghdad on Tuesday as U.S. armored columns, slowed by blinding sandstorms, closed in for the decisive battle for the Iraqi capital. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen - Mar 25 1:29 PM ET


	An Iraqi girl walks off with a jerry can filled with water handed out by U.S. soldiers in the southern Iraq (news - web sites) town of Umm Qasr, March 24, 2003. Warplanes hammered elite Republican Guards defending Baghdad on Tuesday as U.S. armored columns, slowed by blinding sandstorms, closed in for the decisive battle for the Iraqi capital. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen - Mar 25 1:30 PM ET

Australian military divers operate a rubber dinghy during a demining operation in the Iraqi port of Um Casr, March 25, 2003. Australian military divers are working despite bad weather conditions to remove mines that have been placed in the waterways that lead to Iraq (news - web sites)'s only port. Humanitarian agencies are anxious to finish the mine clearing in order to bring aid to the poor Iraqi people that are without water and proper food. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee
- Mar 25 12:55 PM ET

British wounded are flown out from 1 CS Medical Regiment based near Basra, southern Iraq (news - web sites), in a Puma helicopter, Tuesday March 25, 2003. In an about-face, British forces said they had decided to move against militia fighters who blocked them from securing Basra _ even as Iraqi forces in the area allegedly began using civilians as human shields. (AP Photo/Dan Chung, Pool)
- Mar 25 12:59 PM ET


	An Iraqi child holds a food parcel distributed by Royal Marines, from 42 Commando, as they bring the first humanitarian aid to Umm Qasr, Southern Iraq (news - web sites), Tuesday March 25 2003. The Marines entered the city on Monday and have been tasked to secure the port town so further aid can be delivered. (AP Photo/Jon Mills, Pool) - Mar 25 12:36 PM ET


	Royal Marine Roger Green, from Taunton, England gives out sweets to Iraqi children as British troops bring the first humanitarian aid to Umm Qasr, Southern Iraq (news - web sites), Tuesday, March 25, 2003. The Marines entered the city on Monday and have been tasked to secure the port town so further aid can be delivered. (AP Photo/Jon Mills, Pool) - Mar 25 12:32 PM ET


	Members of British 16 Air Assault Brigade, 3 Army Air Corps, patrol the desert around the oil fields of North Rameila, Iraq (news - web sites) during a sandstorm Tuesday, March 25, 2003. (AP Photo/Ian Jones, Handout) - Mar 25 12:19 PM ET


	Soldiers of the British Army 16 Air Assault Brigade, 3 Army Air Corps, Tuesday March 25, 2003, patrol the deserts around the oil fields of North Ramala, Iraq (news - web sites) in a sandstorm. (AP Photo/Ian Jones, Pool) - Mar 25 12:16 PM ET


	The HMS Brockelsby carries out mine hunting operations in the channels running to the port of Umm Qasr in Southern Iraq (news - web sites) Tuesday, March 25, 2003. In the foreground, two recently discovered manta mines and a Lugum mine sit aboard a floating barge. (AP Photo/Tam McDonald, Handout) - Mar 25 11:58 AM ET


	A British soldier inspects some of the weapons abandoned by the Iraqi soldiers at Basra airport in southern Iraq (news - web sites).(AFP/POOL/MoD) - Mar 25 12:02 PM ET


	Troops of the from the British Army's First Royal Regiment of Fusiliers wait for orders in Iraq (news - web sites). They have seen action around Basra, where 11 targets were struck by artillery(AFP/Paul Jarvis) - Mar 25 10:20 AM ET

A British soldier fires at Iraqi forces in the city of Basra, in southern Iraq (news - web sites), March 24, 2003. U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Richard Myers said on March 25 that he anticipated the toughest fighting in the war with Iraq still lay ahead. Speaking on ABC's 'Good Morning America' program, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff anticipated resistance would get tougher the closer troops moved toward Baghdad. (Mark Richards, Pool/Reuters)
- Mar 25 8:38 AM ET

Great post! The Brits are carrying their weight.

I think it's a little funny that every photo group I've seen so far with soldiers interacting with Iraqi civilians, at least one soldier is handing out candy. Didn't I read earlier that the soldiers were instructed NOT to do this very thing, so as to avoid swarms of children getting in the way of tanks, etc? I know I read that somewhere...and yet isn't our first instinct always to give something we know is a treat to kids?

Go Brits! Great pics.

this is what I like to see bump!

Thanks for your good work in posting these here, and God Bless the Brits for their courage and sacrifice!!

Those poor Iraqi kids have the same expressions on their faces concerning the food packs that American kids have when they see a display of Gameboy cartridges. We have a LOT to be thankful for.

ping :) I love the picture of the soilder giving out candy & also the boys peaking out of their foxhole.

Peaking in a foxhole? That's gotta be a bad trip.

Thanks for posting this, it really made my day!
American generosity!

BUMP!!!

I think it's a little funny that every photo group I've seen so far with soldiers interacting with Iraqi civilians, at least one soldier is handing out candy. Didn't I read earlier that the soldiers were instructed NOT to do this very thing, so as to avoid swarms of children getting in the way of tanks, etc? I know I read that somewhere...and yet isn't our first instinct always to give something we know is a treat to kids?

I believe that they were instructed not to hand out food or candy to kids and adults while in convoy. Authorities were worried about accidents and ambushes.The Iraqi Ba'athist soldiers disguised as civilians have proved that suspicion. I'm not sure what the rule is out of convoys.

Asleigh Banfield had a story about the Kentucky marines splitting big bags of hard candy between themselves before they left for Kuwait. The candy wasn't entirely for their own consumption. Some of the marines admitted that they wanted to have something to hand out to the Iraqi kids.

Amen to that!

while in convoy...

That must have been what I read and I just missed that detail. Good. One article I read described a wide-eyed child with chocolate around his mouth. I had to laugh. Simple pleasures for us, an amazement to someone who has never had chocolate before!

RU kidding? These kids are thrilled with a bottle of freaking WATER!!!!! We need to raise these peoples standard of living. Hell, we don't need to do it for them, just get the al-Husseini's out of the way and they'll do it themselves!

Pictures are so great in reminding us what we are really doing in Iraq!

God bless you for posting these pictures! I really needed this pick-me-up after a seriously miserable day. Thanks!

-Jay

Thank God for the Brits! Great post.