This post may prove my knowledge of history is poor, but with regards to this war on terrorism, didn’t Great Britain wage a similar kind of campaign in the 19th Century against a sect of Islamic or Hindu warriors known as the Assassins?
I think the Assassins were a pretty old order, perhaps similar to an order of knighthood in the West, and engaged in terrorist acts of assassination (natch). GB’s expansion into India brought their forces into conflict, and the Assassins, operating out of cells and through sporadic incidents, were considered a significant danger to the Empire’s stability in the region. Finally, after a series of setbacks and victories, the Assassins were pretty much exterminated over the course of many years–perhaps decades.
The debate portion of this follows–
-
Is what I listed even historically accurate? If it isn’t, no need to proceed further. 
-
While factoring in obvious technological advancements, do the tactics GB applied to their campaign against the Assassins serve as any kind of useful model we might follow today? Unfortunately, I don’t know offhand what any of those tactics were.
Thanks in advance to anyone who cares to respond.
The Assassins were an Islamic religious cult that branched into warfare. They began near Afghanistan and spread over Iran, Iraq, and Syria, establishing fortresses from which they demanded tribute from the locals. They had an early success (and gained notoriety) when several armies sent to eliminate them were “decapitated” by the assassination of the general in charge. However, they were not able to maintain that success and over the course of many years, the various kingdoms and empires whom they were badgering mounted offenses against their fortresses, reducing them and gradually eliminating the sect (or reducing it to irrelevance). They flourished from the 11th through 13th centuries.
The British in India faced the Thugs, a group of thieves who used ritual murder in their attacks on travelers. While they arose around the 13th century and appear to have Muslim connections at that time, I have not seen a direct connection (such as Assassins fleeing to India to become Thugs). The Thugs were definitely a Hindu group.
They were eliminated in a concerted effort by the British in the 1830s. The specific difference between the Thugs and the current terrorists was that the Thugs (whatever their religious beliefs) were no more than thieves operating in a single country where they were not admired or supported by the populace.
The Assassins might have a somewhat closer analogy, except that they were still located in their own, quite visible, fortresses that could be attacked by an army (provided it protected its officers), rather than being shadowy figures loosely associated with supporting countries with no fixed base.
I won’t say that we can learn nothing from studying these groups and their suppression, but there are no direct and obvious lessons to be learned.