10 Days That Changed History

AUG. 20, 1998: Just Missed

With most Americans absorbed by the Monica Lewinsky affair, relatively few paid much attention when the United States fired some 60 cruise missiles at Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. Most public debate centered on whether President Clinton had ordered the strike to deflect attention from his domestic troubles.

Although the details of that day remain in dispute, some accounts suggest that the attack may have missed killing Osama bin Laden by as little as an hour. How that would have changed America — and the world — may be revealed, in time, by the history that is still unfolding.

This is one of 10 days in American history highlighted in this New York Times story. Can you guess what other days might be included?

With JonBenet Ramsey all over the news, and with the five-year anniversary of 9/11 coming up in a few short weeks, it amazes me how much the electronic media focus on things that, in the big picture, are not very important. Unless it's something on Project Runway, I have absolutely no interest in blue dresses.