Today in history: Clinton declares a national emergency

June 9, 1956: President Eisenhower was taken to Walter Reed hospital for an emergency operation to remove an intestinal blockage. Doctors feared Eisenhower might not survive the operation (he had suffered a heart attack nine months earlier), and his health became a big issue during his re-election campaign.

June 9, 1998: President Clinton declared a national emergency to deal with the threat to national security posed by Serbia (with respect to Kosovo). In the spring of 1999, the U.S., with its NATO allies, attacked Yugoslavia. The goal, said NATO: "Serbs out, peacekeepers in, refugees back."

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