miklaszewski has more on the hearings and the general. >> reporter: this is not exactly what general james mattis had in mind when ordered to take the hill. but in his senate hearing today, mattis, true to form, did not pull any punches. like his reaction to the leak of thousands of classified documents to wikileaks. >> one of the newspaper headlines was that it's -- the war is a tense and dangerous thing. well, i -- if that is news, i don't know who it's news to that's on this planet. >> general mattis is also known for engaging at times in a little straight talk. something that this senator particularly appreciates. >> reporter: but it's his gruff demeanor that sometimes gets him into trouble. such as remarks in 2005, which appeared to glorify killing the taliban. >> you go into afghanistan, you have women walking around not wearing a veil. those guys have no manhood left. >> reporter: he was reprimanded and that was enough for gates. >> the lesson was learn. >> repor8-r: a 3year veteran, mattis has commanded combat marines in iraq and afghanistan, and with general david petraeus helped write t

. >> reporter: the man who led those marines was general james mattis. so there was bitter irony in the room today when mattis now wearing four stars sat down for his confirmation hearing as commander of all u.s. forces in iraq and afghanistan. the man who once stood on the verge of victory now says the outcome is uncertain. >> i believe it will be a difficult summer right into the fall. >> reporter: what happened? in a word iraq. the invasion and occupation sucked up troops and technology. afghanistan became what's called an economy of force operation, a euphemism meaning not enough troops. you can read all about it in the six years' worth of classified documents wikileaks posted on the web. >> the war in afghanistan was deteriorating over the past several years and we were not winning. >> reporter: the taliban taking advantage of sanctuaries in afghanistan and corruption in the government made ha comeback forcing president obama to order a troop surge. by the end of this summer, the u.s. will have 100,000 troops on the ground. at least for a while. the

marine corps general james mattis has been tapped to take over the u.s. central command. defense secretary robert gates announced it today. mattis would replace general david petraeus, who left to become the top commander in afghanistan. that's after general stanley mcchrystal was fired for criticizing administration leaders in "rolling stone" magazine. mattis was criticized in 2005, for saying: "it's fun to shoot some people." but gates played down that incident today. >> that was five years ago. action-- appropriate action was taken at the time. i think that the subsequent five years have demonstrated that the lesson was learned. obviously, in the wake of the "rolling stone" interview, we discussed this kind of thing. >> sreenivasan: the nomination of mattis is subject to senate confirmation. wall street regained some more ground today. stocks rose on news that first- time claims for jobless benefits fell. the dow jones industrial average added more than 120 points to close at 10,139. the nasdaq rose nearly 16 points to close at 2,175. an experimental plane powered only

today i'm pleased to announce that i've recommended to the president that he nominate general james mattis as the next commander of u.s. central command. general mattis, who currently heads joint forces command, is one of our military's outstanding combat leaders and strategic thinkers, bringing an essential mix of experience, judgment and perspective to this important post. he has served and commanded at all levels and has held a number of key leadership positions in the centcom area of responsibility, including battalion command in the first gulf war, leading the first conventional ground forces inserted into afghanistan, commanding the 1st marine division during the initial combat and stability phases of the iraq war, and command of all marine corps forces in central command. whether commanding troops in battle, leading the marine corps combat development command, or developing new operating concepts at jfcom, general mattis has proven to be one of the military's most innovative and iconoclastic thinkers. his insights into the nature of warfare in the 21st century have influenced my own

>today i'm pleased to announce that i've recommended to the president that he nominate general james mattis as the next commander of u.s. central command. general mattis, who currently heads joint forces command, is one of our military's outstanding combat leaders and strategic thinkers, bringing an essential mix of experience, judgment and perspective to this important post. he has served and commanded at all levels and has held a number of key leadership positions in the centcom area of responsibility, including battalion command in the first gulf war, leading the first conventional ground forces inserted into afghanistan, commanding the 1st marine division during the initial combat and stability phases of the iraq war, and command of all marine corps forces in central command. whether commanding troops in battle, leading the marine corps combat development command, or developing new operational -- operating concepts at jfcom, general mattis has proven to be one of the military's most innovative and iconoclastic thinkers. his insights into the nature of warfare in the 21st century have in

mattis. from james madiso he will replace general petraeus. this is just under two hours. the general mattis is no stranger to this committee. he served more than 30 years in the military with tours in afghanistan and iraq. in the last few years, he has served as the commander of the u.s. joined forces command. for many -- many have considered his work to be pioneering work. general petraeus told me last week that he and general mattis have worked closely and well together. indeed, he collaborated closely with general petraeus in writing the book on counterinsurgency doctrine during his tenure as commanding general of the marine corps combat development command. general mattis will have the opportunity as the sand, commander to see the troops of his most recent labor. in afghanistan, a top priority for the next sentcom commander is to make sure that the general petraeus has everything he needs to succeed. other than a change in leadership of the effort in afghanistan, it does not represent a change in policy. our goal there remains to prevent afghanistan from being dominate