I was refering to the Vietnam War, not the Pacific Theatre in World War II. The stakes were much higher in that conflict than they are in the present war in Iraq. Those battles you mentioned were about securing surrender terms. Japan's ability to project military power was dismantled at that point. Was it worth it? Well, it certainly helped to solidify the USA's position as a global hegemon.

Here we're fighting to preserve that hegemony. Since the collapse of the Bretton Woods Accords the decision of oil producing countries, except Iran, to settle accounts in dollars is the main support of our currency on foreign markets. Were that situation to change US consumers would soon be facing a new reality when purchasing goods from abroad. Hence, wealthy but sparcely populated nations like Saudi Arabia exist next to more populated and powerful nations like Iraq and Iran. It's an unstable situation that only exists by the USA protection of the Saudi's and smaller peninsula oil producers.

Remember, in magicjay's world all the players are motivated by money/resource control.