Alexis: Was the European theater a “dangerous distraction” from defeating Japan during WWII? After all, it was the Japanese Empire that bombed Pearl Harbor; no German or Italian troops were involved in that attack.

No, but Africa/Sicily/Italy for all of 1943 and half of 1944 were a waste of time and resources. In the end, the Nazis could fall back to the inpenetrable Alps and make a stand there defending the passes. Soft underbelly of Europe indeed. Everything was about looking busy for Stalin. So hanging Saddam by his neck in Baghdad had the same strategic impact on the real War Against Terror as hanging Moussolini by his feet in Milan had on the real War against the Nazis. Specifically: little to none.