[halsom]

The U.S. almost certainly does this, but the U.S. would be able to wield its dominance to achieve a far more covert operation.

The U.S. has grounded and delayed flights of foreign government officials numerous times. What makes you think the U.S. would consider a commercial flight off limits?

“On 20 September, Evo Morales announced a lawsuit against the U.S. government for "crimes against humanity" for repeatedly blocking presidential flights, after an incident in which authorization for an overflight of Puerto Rico by President Maduro of Venezuela was delayed, although U.S. authorities said that they were entitled to three days' advance notice. Maduro had been en route to arrive in Beijing for bilaterial talks with the People's Republic of China.[14]”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales_grounding_incide...

[newacct583]

The example you cite is of the US petulantly harassing the itinerary of a foreign leader. That is the US being a dick, in the vernacular.

The situation at hand is an act of war against an Irish airliner.

Sorry, but it's just not the same, and you know it.