Turn Secure MODE off (Little Upsilon)

I returned from 3 day holiday to find all my slave countries gone to an enemy federation. When i try to retaliate - Secure MODE won't drop because my war index is above 500. Does this mean I created a huge military but can never use it unless I go thru a slave? Thats lame. It will take weeks to retaliate. Please tell me this game is not so lame~

Per the documentation, you cannot drop secured mode unless your war index is below 300. This is to prevent countries from building up large military forces under the banner of peace, and then suddenly dropping secure mode and blitzkrieging.

Please help a newb, how do you get your war index above 100?