But by '45, the US will almost always be in a dominant position, as the only other economic powerhouse, the USSR, will have almost certainly spent a lot of resources and taken a lot of damage fighting Germany. The only weaknesses the US has is that, starting out, they have a weak army and air force and low technology, so using that knowledge pool is essential to catch up with the rest of the world. And then there's the obvious fact that the Axis can't hit the American mainland because of geographical separation, and even if they managed to get a few ships to the coastal areas, they'd get massacred. They start off with the largest amount of IC in the game, the biggest knowledge pool, and a very powerful navy - and it only gets bigger and meaner as the game progresses. The United States is pretty much considered 'easy mode', and for good reason, particularly in III.