Probe finds indecision over how to handle remains of 9/11 victims

New details from an investigation into how Dover Air Force Base handled the remains of some 9/11 victims show an internal debate over how to classify the body parts.

An?independent investigation into why the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base disposed of human remains ? including?body parts of some victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks ? in a landfill released new details Friday, painting a picture of "sketchy handoff communication? and repeated mistakes.

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A series of e-mails ? in which names are redacted ? were released by the Pentagon Friday as part of the independent investigation. They?point to mismanagement and offer corroboration of a 2005 internal investigation that concluded that ?control and accountability of remains is lacking? and that ?human remains were misrouted in a fashion that constituting dereliction of duty.?

For instance, in the days leading up to the decision to dispose of the body parts of some of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a landfill, defense officials debated whether it wouldn?t be more proper to bury the remains at sea instead.

The crux of discussion, revealed in e-mails, centers around whether these body parts should be considered ?human remains? or ?medical waste.?

?I do like the idea of spreading the ashes at sea, in that it is neutral area, it should represent an area readily agreeable to all parties,? one official wrote in August 2002.

Another suggested that ?it may be appropriate for us to witness and perhaps even have a chaplain present.?

After all, one US military colonel in the e-mail chain added, the body parts are ?not your normal set of medical waste.??

Yet another official, however, raised an objection to the idea of a burial at sea. ?We shouldn?t attempt to spread the residue at sea, as it could [be] possible [to] send a message to the next of kins that we are disposing human remains, and that is not the case.?

Dover mortuary officials came under fire last year for what the Air Force deemed ?gross mismanagement? that included the landfill revelations. A?review was ordered by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and led by retired Gen. John Abizaid, who once headed the command in charge of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Even after a series of internal investigations into problems at Dover, ?corrective actions were not taken,? Abizaid said.?

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