I'm working my way through this, and have a couple of questions.
Disclaimer: I'm not that well-read in military history overall, having concentrated on certain time-periods as research for other studies, so my questions might seem rather obvious to you all. My apologies.
1. Barnett states (p.84) that "like all politics, all terrorism is ultimately local: it occurs within states and it typically involves specific grievances even as it rages against the system..." Do you agree?
2. Barnett states (p. 85-6) that "basically, wars between states have disappeared" and that Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was "not to conquer a state for particularistic gain but rather to readmit that disconnected state back to the system -- or community -- of peaceful states." Is he denying that Kuwait was a state? Any why did he think Iraq invaded Kuwait, if not for gain? Am I missing something here?