Terror threat

U.S. military might already have the data to identify Islamic State leaders

To be sure, this Islamic State connection with Hussein’s Baathist military remains largely theory. It also doesn’t explain why the organization has spread across Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Nor does it explain the prominence of numerous Syrians and foreigners within its command structure.

The theory would also mean the average Islamic State leader is relatively old for an insurgent commander. Anyone who joined the Baathist Party during the 1990s would now be at least middle aged or older. To put this in perspective, the founder of al Qaeda in Iraq – the Islamic State fore-runner — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was 40 when he was killed in 2006. His successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was in his late 30s when Iraqi forces caught up with him. The current chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is in his mid-40s.