bush* Grieves for Fallen British Soldiers [View All]

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20031120/ap_on_re_eu/bush

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While Bush celebrates the two countries' friendship as "one of the great alliances of mankind," many of the British deplore the war, and as many as 100,000 protesters were expected to show their discontent Thursday in a massive march.

On the second full day of his 3 1/2-day visit to Britain, Bush laid a cream-colored wreath with a red, white and blue banner at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in a subdued ceremony Thursday at Westminster Abbey. The president, wife, Laura, at his side, did not speak, only somberly bowing his head in prayer before the grave.

Later, he was to meet with relatives of 53 British soldiers and civilians killed since the start of the war — the highest death toll of any American ally in Iraq.

"The armed forces of both our countries have taken losses, felt deeply by our citizens," Bush said in a speech Wednesday. "Some families now live with a burden of great sorrow. We cannot take the pain away, but these families can know that they are not alone."