Editing Attacks on humanitarian workers (section)

== Motives ==
It is often hard to ascertain a motive for attacks on aid workers; for instance, in 55% of the incidents recorded by the AWSD in 2008, the motive was described as "undetermined".<ref name="ODI" /> However, of those that were determined, political motivations have increased (29% of the determined total in 2003 to 49% in 2008) relative to economic motivations, or when the victim's status as an aid worker was only incidental.<ref name="ODI" /> Aid workers can be targeted for political reasons both directly and by association.<ref name="ODI" /> Sometimes the humanitarian organisation may be targeted for something that it has done or a statement it has made, or simply for the delivery of aid to a population, to whom others do not wish aid to reach.<ref name="ODI" /> It can also be targeted as a result of being associated as an entity collaborating with a group or government seen as an enemy, leading humanitarian organizations to strive be seen as politically independent and neutral.<ref name="ODI" /> However, evidence shows that this has little impact and instead that western aid agencies are perceived as an intrinsic part of western governments' agendas and not merely associated with it.<ref name="ODI" />

Afghanistan reflected this dynamic during the [[War on terror|War on Terror]] when it was one of the most dangerous countries for humanitarian workers to operate. In 2007, 61% of incidents there were carried out by criminals and 39% by political opposition groups, but in 2008, 65% of incidents were the work of armed opposition groups.<ref name="ODI" /> According to a 2009 report by Humanitarian Outcomes, this increase in politically motivated attacks may have occurred because Afghan locals stopped distinguishing between organisations who worked with the US military and those who did not, with the notable exception of the ICRC. In remote areas, humanitarian workers sometimes represented the only accessible western target.<ref name="ODI" /> However, at least two studies did not find evidence indicating heightened aid worker insecurity in provinces where the US military was present.<ref>Watts, Clinton. 2004. [https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA467616.pdf Indicators of NGO security in Afghanistan]. West Point: United States Military Academy, The Combating Terrorism Center.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mitchell |first1=David |year=2015 |title=Blurred Lines? Provincial Reconstruction Teams and NGO Insecurity in Afghanistan, 2010–2011 |journal=Stability: International Journal of Security & Development |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.5334/sta.ev |id=Art. 9 |doi-access=free}}</ref>