Pentagon officials were caught by surprise by President George W. Bush 's announcement on Tuesday that the notorious Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad was to be torn down.
"This office was not aware of any plans to raze Abu Ghraib or build another prison," a Pentagon spokesman told The New York Times, insisting that he remain anonymous lest he was seen as contradicting the president.
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A White House official, who also asked not to be identified, told the daily it was Bush's idea to include the announcement in a speech Tuesday, in which he outlined his strategy to hand over power to an interim Iraqi government on June 30.