I don't believe she had experience in security. She was hired to educate Bush in foreign policy issues. They got along well, it seems, and he appointed her to the post. I'm not too familiar with the job of NSA. What kind of people usually get picked for that job?
My guess is that you get picked for the job based upon politics of some sort. The question is "what qualifications would be most valuable in the NSA?" My answer to that is someone who has a lifetime of command in matters relating to our enemies, their intentions, their capabilities, as well as ours.
Academicians in power scare me. What works in the classroom or a book on theory usually does not translate well into reality. That's fine if you are Secretary of Labor or Education, but NSA is a critical post.
No one has yet to convince me that CR would have the job if she was not both black and female.