Canada’s intervention in Afghanistan since 2001 has been described as a war, a peace operation and even a counter-insurgency campaign. In our opinion, these actions fall rather into a gray area. Indeed, this intervention seems to go beyond the limits of the founding principles of peace operations, but appears to preserve some characteristics of these. This article analyzes the features of these activities by using a theoretical model in order to determine which type of military operations the Afghan mission does belong to. The aim is therefore to clarify this gray area by seeking to identify the ontological position most appropriate to differentiate between these types of activities.