(Susan Walsh/AP Photo)

The three-day Conservative Political Action Conference runs Thursday through Saturday in Washington, DC.

Think of it as an early Republican spring training for the 2016 presidential campaign - a chance for potential candidates to talk to conservative activists and for those activists to talk to each other about their early favorites. Organized by the American Conservative Union, the conference runs through Saturday and will feature some of the brightest stars in GOP politics. Every year the speakers serve up generous helpings of conservative red meat, and this week, a major foreign policy crisis will provide the backdrop.

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