US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Wednesday that the ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide had proved to be "a rather disappointing leader."

"I helped put President Aristide back in his position of responsibility in 1994 when I went to Haiti on a weekend with President Carter and Senator Nunn. But President Aristide and the 10 years that followed proved to be a rather disappointing leader," Powell said at a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee.

Powell again denied the claim that Aristide was "abducted" by the US soldiers and forced to resign. "He was not removed in the sense that he was kidnapped or tied up or anything like that," he said.

Aristide, who resigned on February 29 and went into exile in the Central African Republic, has claimed he was "abducted" by theUS soldiers and forced into exile. The United States has dismissedthe claim as "sheer nonsense."

The United States restored Aristide to power in 1994 with 20,000 troops, but Washington has been increasingly frustrated at himas the poor Caribbean country remained plagued by corruption, inefficiency and cronyism.