You seem to have reached far down into the toolbox yourself. You keep answeing your own questions. As a Norwegian it is easy to explain the status of Britain and America.

Britain has been a rollercoaster.

Firstly we have been visiting them a lot earlier that Lindisfarne. Then of course it is the period of raiding and settling in Britain and Ireland. One of my Forefathers Walking Rolf, or Rollo (shocked to say he is known as Cornelius de Swedetsia in Italy!!) as he became in Normandy was a forefather to William the Conquerer. Well keeping the story short we stayed a while.

The bad impression was in the Napoleonic wars when the Royal Navy starved much of Norway. (A popular historic tid bit for our nazis during the war) Then they threw us as war booty to Sweden.

After our independence from Sweden in 1905 Britain became a more and more important trade partner.

In WW2 Britain aided us or was it us aiding them?? ("Worth a million men" W.S. Churchill on the Norwegian Merchant marine.)

The Relationship with the US is just a sunshile story. An early trade was established in the new world. (slaves, tobacco etc.) As the Norwegian population grew, poverty and famine struck. In addition the Kings (Swedish mind you) taxes were horrible. The hope lay in the New World. You were granted enough land not only to survive but prosper. So off we went to the promised land.

The people who went over never forgot where the came from. (this is true today. My cousin went over to the Dakotas and received a kings welcome)
So our bonds with the Us are strong. Both during and after the War the bonds were strengthened.

As for critisim of Britain and the US. Read the papers!!! What happened earlier in history such as the British imperialism and shaping of the US. We were all part of it. The imperialism and especially the New world attracted millions of people all over europe.

You put it so easily when you say it is easly to say we should all get along and not discriminate when you don't have to fight for existance on a regular basis. Ahem! Most european countries have done that since the beginning of time. It started to get difficult in the Roman era, then eased off some when the Huns came. After Charlemagne was put to his final rest and europe was again divided it was easy pickings. (or at least that is what my ancestors say)
Then the common christianity gave us focus to go out of europe and kill people there. Backfire because the pagans almost overran us. The a nice period of almost continnual warfare in Central europe, and the usual French English/Britain affairs. (remember there was wars before the Union) Now I'm not going to say that the Germans did not go to war. Far from it the initiated a great deal of wars themselves. The Preussian society was built around the ability to wage war.

I just don't accept the English channel as an excuse. Both the Spanish and the French tried, but failed. Beeing an overpopulated Island nation is a disadvantage. You have to control the sea just to survive. That is something to keep you awake at night.

As for the moral high ground, you mentioned it yourself. The Germans and Japanese did actions that was not acceptable in the 20th century.

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'We march. The enemy is retreating in transport. We follow on foot.' Lt.Neil McCallum 5/7 Gordons 19th November 1942