Bush seeks to salvage legacy at NATO, Putin summits

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush left on Monday for his farewell NATO summit and a final heads-of-state meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin as he tries to salvage a foreign policy legacy frayed by the Iraq war.

Seeking to reassert himself on the world stage in the twilight of his term, Bush will press NATO for more troops in Afghanistan, try to keep up momentum in the alliance's eastward expansion and attempt to ease strains with Russia.

But with Bush even more unpopular overseas than at home, he could have a hard time swaying world leaders at this week's Bucharest summit as they look to whomever will succeed him in January 2009.

"Many of them are looking forward now to the next president in Washington and are already thinking about what the 2009 summit will bring," said Julianne Smith, a Europe analyst at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Lame-duck status will not be Bush's only obstacle as he ventures abroad for the first in a series of international conferences marking his final year in office.

Overhanging his travels will be the 5-year-old Iraq war, which has damaged America's credibility with friends and foes alike. The latest spike in fighting has increased doubts of further drawdowns of U.S. forces before Bush leaves office.

He will also be trailed by a financial crisis at home that has roiled global markets and sharpened criticism of his economic record, once seen as a bright spot of his legacy.