A generational divide over the Iran war has emerged between older attendees and their political heirs at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Texas, as the group’s leaders pleaded for unity ahead of a challenging midterm election year for Republicans.
Younger conservatives spoke of disappointment and even “betrayal” over Donald Trump’s launch of strikes against Iran, saying that the president’s actions run counter to his many pledges to oppose foreign entanglements.
Meanwhile, older conservatives were looking past Trump’s campaign criticism of military action to topple foreign regimes, arguing the war in Iran is a pragmatic act forced by threats to the US.
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