I think it was agreed to by the FAA under pressure from Boeing for commercial reasons. That was a commonly held view at the time. EASA certainly thought so, since they did not accept the special condition and insisted Boeing complied with the FAA rules as written.
Of course EASA was pure and holy and had no commercial reason in mind as in protecting Airbus ?
Despite over a few decades of 767 flights under ETOPS-180.
Thanks for your unbiased opinion..
