I was in the Navy on the USS Enterprise in the late 80's. We had escorted reflagged Kuwaiti tankers through the straits of Hormuz in an attempt to keep the oil flowing despite Iran's deployment of mines in key areas. That operation was called "Earnest Will". Inevitably, a conflict occurred after a US ship hit a mine, and the Big E retailiated against Iran in what we were told was the largest Naval battle since WWII - called "Operation Praying Mantis". The effects were so devastating and Iran's reality so bleak that Iran's leadership was at risk for being exposed to be frauds - weak in the face of danger, despite the backing of the omnipotent Allah. The situation was rapidly becoming unwinnable for the mullahs. They had to find a way out that was palatable to the people and provided a plausible cover story for their advocation of a cease fire. That's when an event you may have read about occurred with the USS Vincennes.
The setup was the US had stopped selling parts to the Shah for the F4's & F14's we had sold him in the late 70's. Without spare parts, the planes were thought to be grounded.
/scuttlebutt - The story goes in the Navy that one of the IFF Transponders (IFF = Identify Friend or Foe) from an F4 was fitted to a civilian passenger aircraft, so that when the plane was flying, the signals it sent out told combat controllers what friends (country & aircraft type) were out there on a secure channel. You can imagine what would happen if a civilian airliner was "squawking I'm an F-4" while flying towards a warship in the tense times just after Praying Mantis. /scuttlebutt off
One morning, a large radar target appeared heading right for the Vincennes. Despite several warnings, the airliner continued towards the warship. The Vincennes shot down the jet, and according to media reports, killed 100's of passengers. In no time, Iran condemned the action and declared the US is a Great Satan, and the mullahs wanted no part in this evil conflict with such an unworthy adversary as could kill defenseless civilians.
/scuttlebutt The story goes that looking at the photographs of the dead, some were decomposing, many appeared to have gunshot wounds in their heads...implying the plane was loaded with dead people. Further, it was suggested some of the passengers were political opponents of the mullahs, and some had been missing for months. /scuttlebutt off
While its easy to engage in the conspiracy theories about a jihadist taking a US rifle and slaying these people...the reality is probably much simpler than that. Somehow create enough confusion to get the US to actually shoot these men, women and children, then point to the event as a great injustice. Al-Jazeera, every Arab leader, the wahabbists, will use it as a lever to get rid of the US presence in Iraq - as will our own leftist anti-war groups in the US. If successful, those 24 lives will have been used much more effectively than the 1000's of Iraqi militants who tried to combat the US using conventional means. Given their appreciation of life, we know the think nothing like we in the west do about putting a woman or children in harms way - especially if it furthers a religious goal.
If I'm recalling the pictures correctly, all of the bodies that I saw floating in the water were naked.