Offered purely as punctuation in this fascinating exchange of opposing views, and apologies if it has already been mentioned without me spotting it. Surely it is possible that the reason for the so-called "delay" (not the decision to do so) of five to six hours in offloading the Purser was to ensure that she was safely landed at the first US airport that was more or less en route, and with the prospect of a quick onward flight to ORD, rather than leaving her stranded at a foreign airport without proper back-up?
Jack
PS I'm too scared to offer a view on the decision itself, even though I have one - and, yes, it's based on command experience!