Military Operations Other Than War, although not conventional war fighting in the bigger sense, can actually be more dangerous than active combat. MOOTW requires closer contact with the populace, daily movement in urban and rural environments, and all with less firepower, security and more restrictive rules of engagement (ROE).
Even an untrained observer will see that the situation in Iraq after the “war was won” has made US and coalition forces easy targets. Hunkering down in armored vehicles at intersections gives the impression of an occupying army and serves little to no security purpose. Patrolling urban streets may deter looters but not terrorist or insurgent attacks. The Iraqis still want the US to do all the reconstruction work but they are not going out of their way to ID the insurgents or militia death squads.
Operational Studies interest in MOOTW goes far beyond the counter insurgency war in Iraq to encompass the full range of the various forms of MOOTW. These include:
The stated six principles of MOOTW include:
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Targeted Killing Research Paper by Tom Hunter