Liberal American backed attempt with passion (6)

I believe the answer is:

sultry

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'liberal american backed attempt with passion' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'liberal american backed attempt' is the wordplay.
'liberal' becomes 'l' (abbreviation).
'american' becomes 'US' (United States).
'backed' says the letters should be written backwards.
'attempt' becomes 'try' (synonyms).
'l'+'us'='lus'
'lus' back-to-front is 'sul'.
'sul'+'try'='SULTRY'

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(Other definitions for sultry that I've seen before include "Such weather is hot and oppressive" , "Oppressively humid - sensual" , "Oppressively hot and humid" , "Close -- sensual" , "Sweltering, close and oppressive" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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