The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

Because crises tend to generate more foreign policy, and thus more literature on the subject, the Middle East and North Africa are common topics of debate and scholarship. This book supplements the bibliographies already in print regarding this topic, including material on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Lebanese Civil War, Iran hostages, Gulf War, and Intifada. Entries include references to new electronic sources; some entries are non- English, allowing for greater breadth of coverage. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR