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Former Bush aide to speak at AIPAC dinner

Elliott Abrams, former deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush, will be the keynote speaker at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s 2012 Tucson Annual Dinner, which will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center.

Abrams is senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. He served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser in the administration of President George W. Bush, where he supervised U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Abrams was president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. from 1996 until he joined the White House staff in June 2001 as special assistant to the president and senior director of the National Security Council for democracy, human rights and international organizations.

He is the author of three books, “Undue Process” (1993), “Security and Sacrifice” (1995) and “Faith or Fear: How Jews Can Survive in a Christian America” (1997) and the editor of three more including “The Influence of Faith: Religion and American Foreign Policy.” He also writes about U.S. foreign policy on his CFR blog, “Pressure Points.”

Bakari T. Sellers, a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and Dave Rand, AIPAC regional political director, also will speak at the event, which begins at 6 p.m. The cost is $36. Register online by Jan. 16 at aipac.org/Tucson2012 or call 903-1004.