Haitian Prez: It Will Take Three Years to Clear Rubble

Haitian President Rene Preval says it will take at least three years to clear the rubble following January 12th's earthquake

"It will take 1,000 trucks moving rubble for 1,000 days, so that's three years. And until we move out rubble, we cannot really build," Preval said.

Sitting in the airport police station that serves as the country's temporary government headquarters, Preval calmly laid out the difficulties of rebuilding an impoverished country amid aftershocks and the threat of more earthquakes.

He said the government has destroyed some hastily rebuilt structures in the capital, but he said that until alternative housing plans can be completed, the government's ability to regulate reconstruction will be limited.

Asked about residents' assertions that local corruption has interfered with the international aid effort, he replied: "It is possible that there have been irregularities."

"However," he said, "I should point out that the government isn't the direct manager of most of this humanitarian assistance."

In other sad news, a school collapsed in northern Haiti. Three children were killed.

Three years in the poorest country in the Western hemisphere is an eternity.