Popular US soldier sent back in genuine conspiracy (8)
I believe the answer is:
intrigue
'conspiracy' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'popular us soldier sent back in genuine' is the wordplay.
'popular' becomes 'in'.
'us soldier' becomes 'gi' (I've seen this in other clues).
'sent back' is a reversal indicator.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'genuine' becomes 'true' (similar in meaning).
'gi' in reverse letter order is 'ig'.
'ig' going into 'true' is 'trigue'.
'in'+'trigue'='INTRIGUE'
(Other definitions for intrigue that I've seen before include "Connive" , "liaison" , "Secret love affair" , "Love-affair" , "Arouse the curiosity of" .)