Very good "philosophical" analysis.
Modern wars in fact have made the very concept of "war" obsolete. War was always about competition where the fittest, and technologically advanced side won. Muslim stories of wars are filled with examples where 1 Muslim soldier could take on 10 enemy soldiers. That in fact was the result of superior training, morale, and better war fighting skills.
Compared to almost all of human history, the most recent 300 years have seen a major change in war fighting. Mostly Europeans went through a rapid technical development and now they have produced the fittest and technically advanced militaries.
WWII was probably the last war that perhaps fits as a traditional war. Since then, the winners of WWII have advanced to such a level, that no one can compete with them.
Most of the wars after the end of WWII have been one-sided slaughter. Korean war, Veitnam war etc. all the way to GW II, the ratio was 1 death of European soldier to 100 (and sometimes 1000) deaths of their opponents.
Take the case of Vietnam war. Roughly 50,000 Americans died, while close to a million N. Vietnamese lost their lives.
Knowing the ruthlessness of the war, Europeans have devised modern methods where POWs are not killed and for uniformed armies Geneva convention is followed to large extent.
In summary -- Since WWII, one must think twice before starting a war. Yes this may be construed as cowardice by some, but committing suicide is not allowed either. And in modern wars, unless you can match satellite for satellite, plane for plane, ship for ship, and financial muscles, there is no point in fighting. It is just suicidal.