re: If Sonny Corleone doesn't get whacked, does the Corleone family win the war?

Sonny was too much of a hot head. I think he would have caused the demise of the family. Plus, the other families might have grown big enough and powerful enough to take Sonny out. Michael didn't give them the option to grow. He saw enemies and took them out before they could cause any trouble.

I also think Michael was much smarter than Sonny. He saw all the intricate parts of the web. If the situation was reversed, I don't think Sonny would have figured out the rats in the family. He would be busy banging cocktail waitresses in a hat check closet.

He was as cold blooded as they come. He killed Fredo, but to me proof of his calculating cold blooded streak was the hooker. He had that hooker murdered to frame the Senator. That wasn't some revenge killing. That wasn't someone who deserved to die. Just a chick in the wrong place and the wrong time.