Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi quickly issued a statement praising American efforts, hoping to defuse a row after one of his ministers accused the US of weak leadership in the tragedy that claimed more than 150,000 lives.

"I deeply resent those who attack our country, the generosity of our people and the leadership of our president in trying to respond to historically disastrous conditions after the earthquake," Clinton told State Department employees at a forum marking one year in office.

Clinton did not single out critics but said that "some of the international press either misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued" the US decision to send thousands of troops to Haiti.

The United States needed to send both troops and civilians "to deliver aid to the Haitians who desperately needed it," Clinton said.

"We're scrambling as quick as we could to do everything we needed in the past two weeks," she said.

Italy's chief public safety official Guido Bertolaso said Sunday that the United States had sent "too many officers" to Haiti and could not find a capable leader.

Bertolaso, who won praise for his handling of last year's earthquake in the Italian town of L'Aquila, said that the United States could have been more effective if it had "a will and capacity for coordination and leadership."

But Berlusconi on Tuesday praised the US operation in Haiti, a day after his foreign minister, Franco Frattini, also distanced himself from the disaster minister's remarks in a meeting with Clinton in Washington.

"Without the generous and significant intervention of the United States everything would have been much more difficult," Berlusconi said.

"In critical situations like this it is unfortunately inevitable that difficulties will emerge" in the coordination of aid efforts, he said.

"Statements that might inadvertently spark debate should be avoided," he said.

Besides NATO ally Italy, the United States has faced criticism from leftist Latin American nations such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba that accused the superpower of occupying the country rather than helping its people.

The United States sent troops to Haiti in 1915 at a time of instability in the poor nation, establishing a military government that lasted until 1934.

Clinton, in an interview with the African American-oriented American Urban Radio Networks, strongly refuted suggestions that Haitians did not want US troops on their soil.

"Boy, are people glad to see us," Clinton said. "I have lots of pictures of Haitians embracing our soldiers, waving at our helicopters, expressing their thanks."

"We know that some want to draw some historical parallel that is not applicable, but we are not paying any attention to that," she said.

At the State Department town hall, Clinton pointed to her strong response to criticism on Haiti as a model for the future.

While the Obama administration has pledged a humbler approach to foreign affairs after George W. Bush's divisive presidency, Clinton said the United States must be ready to defend itself against allegations it sees as unfair.

"I have absolutely no argument with anyone lodging a legitimate criticism against our country. I think we can learn from that and we are foolish if we keep our head in the sand and pretend we can't," Clinton said.

"What we're asking for is that people view us fairly," she said.

US military may reduce Haiti role in 3-6 months: admiral
Washington (AFP) Jan 26, 2010 - The US military could start rolling back its relief operation in Haiti within three to six months if international organizations are able to take on a larger role, a top officer said on Tuesday.

"I think there's a commitment to continue to provide support and stay engaged until other organizations can take over the role," said Vice Admiral Alan Thompson, director of the US Defense Logistics Agency.

"My sense would be that probably in the three to six month time period would be when there would be efforts to try to transition some of the support," he told reporters.

But he added that was "just a personal opinion" and he was not aware of the details of a long-term plan for the military's effort in Haiti.

Military officers said the immediate priority was getting food and medical assistance to Haitians two weeks after the country's devastating earthquake, and that contingency plans for scaling back the military's role remained fluid.

"That's probably a good logistics planning window," said Captain John Kirby, spokesman for the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.

"But as Admiral Mullen has made clear, the military will stay committed to the mission as long as we're needed," Kirby told AFP.

The commander of US troops in Haiti, Lieutenant General Ken Keen, said in a separate news conference it was unclear how long it would take before the US military could hand over to US and international civilian aid organizations.

"As they build up their capacity to provide that much-needed assistance, the need for our military forces will decrease. And we are talking to them as they build the capacity to do just that," Keen said by video link from Haiti.

"But right now, our focus is on providing just emergency relief that is so desperately needed," he said.

President Barack Obama has sent about 20,000 US troops to Haiti to help deliver food, water and medical assistance, with many stationed on ships offshore.

Keen said the US military was working with the United Nations, Haitian officials and other aid organizations to set up a 5,000-bed hospital to treat patients recovering from emergency surgery.

Equipment for the hospital was expected to arrive within about 24 hours and non-governmental organizations were recruiting doctors, he said.

Admiral Thompson said the relief operation in Haiti had not affected the military's logistics effort for the war in Afghanistan, where 30,000 additional US troops are due to deploy.

He said his logistics agency had begun to move 14 million meals to Haiti over the next 10 days, including rations for five million meals that were already on the way to two ports in Florida on Tuesday.

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