Buster:
Not exactly comparable, given
1) the USA immediately accepted responsibility and admitted they'd F'd up.
2) the USA paid reparations


I'm not holding my breath for either of those to happen with Putin.

You missed the point entirely, sanctions are not because of the MH17, they are because of the alleged Russian military support for the separatists and fueling the conflict.

The USA did no such thing. Bush Sr. famously remarked in the aftermath of the shootdown that he'd never apologize for America, regardless of circumstances.

Shooting down an airliner as a "proper defensive action" is hardly the same thing as admitting they F'd up. And it was like the Bay of Tokin all over again, the statements made by US officials (eg. VP Bush at the UN) didn't agree with facts.




US statement -


I am saddened to report that it appears that in a proper defensive action by the U.S.S. Vincennes this morning in the Persian Gulf an Iranian airliner was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz. This is a terrible human tragedy. Our sympathy and condolences go out to the passengers, crew, and their families. The Defense Department will conduct a full investigation.
We deeply regret any loss of life. The course of the Iranian civilian airliner was such that it was headed directly for the U.S.S. Vincennes, which was at the time engaged with five Iranian Boghammar boats that had attacked our forces. When the aircraft failed to heed repeated warnings, the Vincennes followed standing orders and widely publicized procedures, firing to protect itself against possible attack.
The only U.S. interest in the Persian Gulf is peace, and this tragedy reinforces the need to achieve that goal with all possible speed.






Interesting read on the actions of the US Navy ships during the event -


Naval Science 302: Lesson 20

They did admit they shot it down which is huge comparing to Russian actions.

I'm not sure if they had a choice, since it happened under the noses of a bunch of Iranian warships and the whole event apparently took place within PSR range of the ATC from which the unfortunate airliner took off. Whereas, in case of MH17, there seems to be no firm radar evidence of involvement of either side (Ukrainians saw nothing, Americans either saw nothing or aren't releasing anything to the public). We have circumstantial evidence pointing towards Russians, but they have plenty of plausible deniability. If Americans do have something that they haven't shared with journalists but will pass to the team conducting the investigation, things may change after the release of the preliminary report.

In fact, they were ordered to surrender their passports to their employers. It's one of the factors why several Russian travel companies got out of business in the last few weeks.