While the evocative image of Darfur - widespread displacement and killing in the middle of vast deserts in western Sudan - has captured attention throughout the U.S. and the world, advocacy campaigns and activist efforts have not always addressed the thornier questions Darfur poses regarding genocide, international criminal law and the future of Sudan. On multiple occasions U.S. governmental officials have referred to Darfur as a genocide but did not view such a determination as requiring legal action. What does this mean for the doctrine of the "responsibility to protect"?