Wretchard – Most military historians have no doubt who defeated Germany – The Red Army.

With the US, Brit, free Pole effrort contributory, same with US supplies. We helped the Soviets shorten their time to victory.

In the Pacific Theater, the US Navy submarine and surface force was adequate for victory even without the Marines, Aussies, Chinese, A-bomb, or the best General in WWII – Field Marshal Bill Slim beating the Japs in the India-Burma theater. The War would have ended if it was just Navy, with a starvation blockade and methodical destruction of Jap infrastructure by aviation bombing and naval guns.
But a victory maybe more arguable, not as clear cut as the Red Army’s victory.

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Lifeofthemind:
When we first took Iraq Paul Bremmer should have made it clear that we were breaking OPEC in the interest of the US. Oil should have been $25 a barrel with the profits divided evenly between cooperative Iraqis and the American treasury. Putin and the Iranians could have sucked eggs.

That would have put the US in a position of waging aggressive war mainly to thieve other nations wealth and natural resources.