| ® | 208 | HOW AMERICA LOST ITS SECRETS mer NSA director himself, pointed out that the NSA director’s “first responsibility is to be the chief cheerleader.” Rebuilding the NSA capabilities assumed, however, that there would not be another Snowden-sized breach. The question remained: How could the NSA’s vaunted secrecy have been so deeply penetrated by a mere analyst in training at a regional base in Oahu? The perpetrator himself could not be asked if he was in Moscow pointing to the “incompetence” of the NSA in his Moscow interviews. What was known, though, was that the young man who had taken the “queen” from the board had gained entry to the NSA’s secret chambers through the back door, a portal opened to him by the NSA‘ reliance on outside contractors. ® © | | Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.indd 208 © 9/30/16 8:13 AM | | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019696