Lafayette Crosses: Memorial or Protest?

AFP/Pool/Ali Jassem

In the U.S., Veterans Day used to be Armistice day commemorating the end of The Great War which is now known as World War I. The Armistice was agreed to between the Allies and Germany at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of November, 1918.

In England the same day is now called Remebrance Day. The above photo was taken on November 11 and depicts "A British soldier (standing) next to a cross during the Remembrance Day memorial ceremony at the British embassy compound in the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. Four British servicemen (had) been killed and three were left badly wounded following an attack in southern Iraq, the Ministry of Defence in London said."

In this case, the makeshift cross and the wreaths are certainly meant to be a memorial and not a protest.