Trump names former Bush homeland security official head of cybersecurity/counterterrorism

President-elect Donald Trump apparently intends to elevate the role of cybersecurity as it relates to counterterrorism by naming Thomas Bossert, former George W. Bush homeland security adviser, as his chief adviser on homeland security, counterterrorism and cybersecurity matters.

In a statement released Tuesday, it was noted that Bossert will be an adviser to the new president on equal footing with the incoming national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and will be given "independent status" in decision-making. Trump has reportedly created the role himself and elevated the position to serve as a close adviser directly to his office.

Bossert, who currently runs a private consulting business, was praised by Trump in his statement as an asset to his growing team. The Wall Street Journal Reports:

“Tom brings enormous depth and breadth of knowledge and experience to protecting the homeland to our senior White House team,” Mr. Trump said in the transition team’s statement. “He has a handle on the complexity of homeland security, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity challenges. He will be an invaluable asset to our administration.”

In an op-ed penned in November 2015, Bossert writes of the justness of the war in Iraq under Bush, but contends how it was handled and carried out is "ripe for review," before turning his eye on President Obama's actions in Syria. From The Washington Times:

We are now at war with Syria. The level and intensity of that war might be small and directed at ISIS. But we are nevertheless using military force in a foreign, sovereign nation. The justness and necessity of such a decision must be explained. The just and necessary use of force is one of the things separating us from the terrorists. Yet the president prefers only to discuss his plans and strategy for combating and containing ISIS. He has not adequately explained his use of the military in Syria nor followed the last part of Mr. Bush’s doctrine of holding the terrorists and the nations that harbor them to account.

Bossert will enter his new position at a time when cyber crime and the challenges of cybersecurity and national security intersect with the desire of private companies to keep user and customer information protected and secure.