Mullen visits Haiti, talks to US troops

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - U.S. Adm. Mike Mullen met Friday with Haitian President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive in Mullen's first trip to the earthquake-devastated country.

Mullen, who is chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he wanted to visit American troops and assess conditions there. He said that he hasn't toured the rubble in the nearly seven weeks since the 7.0 magnitude quake struck because he wanted to give international relief efforts a chance to get under way.

At the beginning of the meeting, Preval interrupted Mullen to address two U.S. reporters. He said allegations of corruption in the Haitian government were false. Preval said, "If the government talks about corruption, it's because we have a high sense of morality."

Later on Friday Mullen said the U.S. military is prepared to keep troops in Haiti so long as security for the relief effort is needed.

He told reporters that the security situation remains calm and that demands for immediate medical attention have declined. Still, he said, there was no 'definite date' for troop withdrawals.

When asked whether Haiti's upcoming rainy season could complicate factors, he said he didn't want to "accept that as a premise."

Mullen's visit was among trips here by several VIPs in recent weeks, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Some 11,000 U.S. troops are on the ground and offshore in Haiti to provide security and aid relief efforts. That number is slightly down from its peak of about 15,000.