Accurately defining a problem is necessary to determine any solution. In 2004, then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell declared that "genocide" had occurred in the Darfur region of Sudan, providing a narrative to frame the conflict. The situation in Darfur has since been compared to Rwanda and the Holocaust. Signs started popping up at rallies that read, "U.S. out of Iraq, into Darfur." Powell's declaration prompted support among opinion makers and U.S. politicians for sanctions and swift military action to punish Khartoum. However, the narrative provided by the U.S. genocide declaration has undermined efforts to craft a solution to the crisis.

The conflict in Darfur is rooted in Khartoum's marginalization of the region, and increasing desertification, which has enhanced tensions among nomadic tribes and land-owning tribes. In 2003, two Darfurian rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) launched a rebellion against the Sudanese Government, claiming that Khartoum had historically neglected the region and the plight of non-Arab tribes. Khartoum launched a brutal counter-insurgency to put down the rebellion. Sudanese government bombers, attack helicopters, and government forces destroyed villages and massacred civilians. Khartoum manipulated existing tensions between land-owning tribes and those without land by supplying the nomadic Arab militias (i.e. the janjaweed) with arms to collaborate in government attacks.

The conflict has since displaced approximately 3 million and resulted in between 200,000 and 400,000 deaths in Darfur. The first attempt to craft a political settlementthe Darfur Peace Agreement (2006)failed, and the two rebel groups that began the offensive have splintered into nearly three-dozen groups. The second round of talks in Libya crumbled due to both, the absences of Abdul Wahid al-Nur and Khalil Ibrahim, two of the original rebel leaders commanding the insurgency, and the failure of the attending groups to coalesce.

After the negotiations failed, the peace process was put on hold, and international attention focused on deploying the UN-AU hybrid peacekeeping mission (UNAMID). The Bush Administration replaced Andrew Natsios with Rich Williamson to lead U.S. diplomatic efforts in Darfur. The fighting resumed. JEM rebels launched an offensive in West Darfur and Sudanese forces retaliated with attacks that killed hundreds and displaced nearly 10,000 along the Chadian

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