War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.

The line frames war not as a tragic necessity or a test of courage, but as a moral and political evasion: when societies cannot manage the slow, difficult work of negotiation, compromise, and justice, they may choose violence as a shortcut. Calling war “cowardly” reverses the usual rhetoric that glorifies martial bravery, suggesting that real courage lies in sustaining peace—enduring uncertainty, accepting limits, and confronting internal conflicts without scapegoating an external enemy. The quote also implies that peace has “problems” of its own (inequality, grievances, competing interests) that must be addressed directly rather than displaced into war.