Clinton will make historic trip to Vietnam.(Chicago Tribune)

WASHINGTON_Having avoided military service in the Vietnam War, President Clinton departs Monday for an eight-day Asian trip that culminates in his becoming the first U.S. president to visit a unified Vietnam.

Administration officials seek to portray Clinton's treks to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as an attempt to show Vietnam, in the words of National Security Adviser Samuel "Sandy" Berger, "not only as a war but also as a country."

The visit will follow a three-day stay in Brunei, where Clinton will attend his final Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and have one-on-one sessions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro …