What it would appear to be is that they're not actually strong-arming the countries, but instead companies flying from those places, telling them, "We won't let you fly into our county unless you do thus-and-such regarding your other flights to these places." And the countries affected aren't doing anything about it. Or maybe the companies themselves don't want to raise a fuss, figuring it's easier to knuckle under to the Evil Americans than to risk losing the lucrative business.