Col . Paul Hughes , formerly of ORHA , cited Von Clausewitz through the British strategist B . H . Liddell Hart in a 2004 argument that Iraq was turning into a disaster 41 : war should not be undertaken without a clear understanding of what we desire to achieve following the war ’ s end . Col . Hughes stressed that towards that end , unity of effort , inclusive of NGOs , must be achieved . All parties concerned have to learn to work together towards that common end .
There are good reasons why NGOs should in some cases coordinate their operations with those of government or military forces in the same area of operations . However , there are also clear reasons why in many cases they cannot or , more importantly , should not do so . The relative safety conferred upon unarmed NGOs , who operate in unarmored vehicles in high threat environments , occurs because of the perceived neutrality of NGOs , however this concept of neutrality has eroded steadily for over a decade . 2013 saw the deadliest year on record for NGOs . Although the actual number of deaths decreased somewhat in 2014 42 due mainly to widespread reduction in outside-the-wire deployment , the number of attacks actually increased . 43 Although final data has not yet been verified , 2015 is trended toward those same numbers .
NGOs and humanitarian aid workers are increasingly targeted because of the perception that they are intelligence gatherers . In other instances , the perception may arise that NGOs are working on behalf of a national security agenda . Interveners , for example , often seek to achieve stability by supporting the same State-level governments who violently
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