a radical on extremists

I almost called this post "an extremist on extremists," but...

I heard people in Iraq call leaders in the US “Christian extremists,” just as leaders here [USA] speak of “Muslim extremists.” Everyone is delaring war and asking for God’s blessing. One beautiful Iraqi mother threw her hands in the air and said, “Your country is declaring war in the name of God and asking God’s blessing, and that is the same thing my country is doing. What kind of God is this? What has happened to the God of love, to the Prince of Peace?” Her question haunts me.

- Shane Claiborne in The Irresistible Revolution, p.218-219

I read this on Veterans Day but decided to wait a couples of days to post. When I read this I was reminded of the story I heard from the war in Yugoslavia when priests would bless tanks going to battle on both sides of the fron as Serbs fought Croats... how does one make sense of such? how?