A No Brainer

8
A 8 7 3 2
9 5
A K J 7 5
A J 7 5 9 6 3
K Q J 4 10
Q 7 10 8 6 4 3 2
8 3 2 Q 10 6
K Q 10 4 2
9 6 5
A K J
9 4 Vul: None

EastSouthWestNorth
Pass 1 Dbl Redble
All pass

I tell you that the redouble is a dangerous bid. Dangerous for the redoubler in some cases, dangerous for the doubling side allowing a redouble in others. There is one situation where I strongly advocate a redouble, and another where I strongly advocate not allowing a redouble to stand. As for the former, the advocacy is to redouble a five level double when you're slambound. You'll get more points (with an overtrick) on the redouble than on the slam bid (undoubled), while allowing yourself a one-trick cushion in case it's only an 11-trick hand. As for the latter, you see it above.
I have mentioned this before: when the bidding goes one banana, double, redouble, the doubling side must take it out! You may get into trouble doing so, you will get into trouble not doing so. Now, which is better? Is that a promise? Well, there's no such thing as always here, but it's close enough. The final score here was 720 for the declaring side. Almost twice a non-vul game on a one bid!
Here, East's pass opposite the take-out double is all the more amazing in that he had a six-card suit! Here's what East is facing: do you think you can pick up a majority of the tricks in their trump suit with 2 hcp's opposite a takeout double? You've got to bid something, and you'll almost always have a far less appealing suit than that six-carder here. How'd you like 4-3-3-3 distribution with 3 hcp's, a Q and a J, your 4-card suit being the opponent's suit! That's not such a happy situation. Further, it doesn't look all that certain that you're going to be hurt in 2 diamonds.
How many would you go down? Well, on my first look, I figured that declarer would lose 3 diamonds, one spade, one heart and 2 clubs for down 2 (doubled), a tolerable penalty in the light of their evident game in 3 no. [Years later: I don't think their no trump game is quite so "evident". Well, unless they drop that doubleton Q of diamonds, but that's not the way we play bridge. However, this is neither here nor there. Down 2 doubled in 2 diamonds is still better than letting the redouble ride.] It does the defense no good to ruff out the third round of clubs, since that's a natural trick. But on a second look, I saw that the defense could set the contract one more on a spade ruff in the other hand. Minus 500, perhaps.
Now first of all, they might take you out of 2 diamonds rather than doubling. That is very common. Secondly, they've got to find the right defense, though I will grant that it does seem a natural defense to start with the K of spades. And thirdly, which is better: minus 500 or minus 720 and an unhappy partner? So I say again, you must run from that redouble like the plague. It's not just that 500 is less than 720. Rather it's a matter of making the best of an unhappy situation.