what exactly is a "bid"? how does it work?

i tried playing the abandon-pacific-and-head-for-the-atlantic strategy once with USA. didn't work out so well on that occasion. the problem was that it left the pacific wide open for the japanese to stroll into hawaii and midway. then it was strategic bombings and consistent badgering by the japanese in mexico and alaska. needless to say, the US game plan went haywire.

no no. not an IC. occupy wake island. then transport infantry and an AA gun from western USA. you can't build anything on wake island anyway. it doesnt have an IPC value. once wake island is secure, land a fleet of bombers. japan is within striking distance of wake island for the bombers to drain its money.

the indian IC is really a big gamble because japan can easily take it in turn 1 (as neatly explained by MistaBiggs)

instead, here's my theory for checking japan.
russia sends its tanks out east, and needless to say, buys 8 infantry. it also sends its transport and sub into britain.
uk MUST keep its sea space and build transports and infantry. starting turn 2, uk starts shipping infantry to karelia en masse. that further ensures the security of russia, meaning russia can probably send its fighters east to check the japanese advance.
also british fighters head out east to deal with the japanese. uk ends up with 4 infantry in india (after transporting 2 from australia), which provides a fair bit of fodder for the fighters.

the best strategy for the USA in the pacific is:
a) occupy wake island
b) ship some infantry and an anti aircraft gun there
c) build a fleet of bombers and strategically bomb the lights out of japan

japan will be paralyzed. unable to build anything. so the russians and the brits can easily take out their remaining forces in asia. the americans can take over japan's pacific territories one by one.