Inspired by the second season of Serial, an investigative podcast, this committee will explore what is regarded by some as one of the biggest failures in American foreign policy to date. The year is 2009, and the War on Terror is still raging on. Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks on the United States, still roams free. Thousands of U.S. military troops are struggling to rebuild the nation of Afghanistan while keeping the Taliban at bay. But when 23-year-old Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is suddenly captured after abandoning his post, the safety of his fellow soldiers, the integrity of continued intervention in the country, and the future of American alliances in the Middle East are left hanging in the balance.

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How much is worth sacrificing in order to ensure Bowe’s release? What level of accountability should he face upon returning to the United States? Can this dilemma be resolved without bloodshed? Committee members, each with perspectives and agendas of their own, must form an extraction and repatriation strategy that answers each of these questions – all under the watchful eye of a deeply polarized public.