This is the report of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Reconciling the requirements of contemporary operations with the needs of human security" held by Oxford Research Group in September 2006. Participants at this two-day residential workshop included senior military, diplomatic, academic and NGO experts from the Middle East, Europe and North America.

 The report examines how far the needs of people on the ground have been included in decision-making about military intervention, how such decisions have been implemented (with special reference to Iraq and Israel-Palestine), and what best practice in this area can be identified. It concludes with a series of recommendations for governments and military planners.