White House breach a "perfect storm of failures," expert says

It was previously reported that Omar J. Gonzalez was apprehended by Secret Service members just past the unlocked north doors of the White House.

CBS News national security analyst Juan Zarate and former top national security aide to President Bush spoke with CBS This Morning about new details regarding the serious and troubling breakdown in security.

Zarate said the Secret Service's chief mission is to "protect not just the president, but the 18 acres that the White House sits on."

It was a breakdown in judgment and protocol at every level of security, he said.

"This is a very serious moment for the Secret Service, a crisis of confidence if you will," Zarate said.

Perhaps just as troubling is the fact that the Secret Service initially claimed they had apprehended the man after he entered the North Portico doors.

It's clear now he made it to the Green Room - past the staircase that leads to the private residence of the First Family.

"This is a bad demonstration effect for both copycat artists as well as terrorists at a moment of vulnerability," Zarate said.

Furthermore, as CBS News correspondent Bill Plante reported, an alarm box was turned off because it bothered members of the Secret Service when it went off accidentally.

"This was a perfect storm of failures and the Secret Service is going to have to answer for it," Zarate said.