Originally posted by Merv Benson:
It is fairly common in major litigation battles for large firms to get attorney's to play the devil's advocate role to probe for weakness and help prepare rebuttal arguments. It is almost always done in cases argued before the Supreme Court. It is very helpful in preparing for those contest.
From Marc:
But will this be enough? Honestly, I think that Red Teams are a part of a step towards a solution, but they don't go far enough. All a Red Team can do is explain "why" something didn't work and generate new options inside the institutional matrix. So, how to get beyond that?
What if once the initial composition of the Red Team was decided -

something like -
This will have to be a talented group - the observation about co-opting former actors would be a pretty good bench mark - but if that is not acheivable, it might still be better to go outside the military and retired contractor community. How about buisness men that have experience in cut-throat economics, bring in a priest or two who might be familiar with papal maneuvering, a former congressman or lobbyist, a lawyer, a doctor, an insurance broker, a real estate agent, a detective, a convicted white collar type, people who if placed in different conditions will adapt and not roll over- resourceful people who can make use of things provide them in the context of advancing their cause.
They then had a "Green Team" who helped advise the Blue on how to counter, mitigate, prevent. Since we are talking about Asymetric enemy actions and responses - it might be good to have Asymetric counters from people who are outside both the Blue and the Red. Blue and Red will both develop bias - it is a natural tendency to fall in love with aspects of your plan or the whole plan.

It may also be worth considering augmentation of the teams with Iraqis or as close as you can get. Many US professionals might need some "environmental stimulus" type of mood music to help them slip into the role. Even if this is only for a HQs inside the Green Zone - you still have to consider how big to make it if you want it to be responsive and agile - its a trade between having what you need and getting it in time to make a difference.