Lame-duck Bush sets out on last major world tour

Iraq shadows global goodbye

Winding down his presidency, George W. Bush today begins his last major tour on the world stage, trailed by questions about how much clout he still wields.

Unpopular abroad, as he is at home, Mr Bush nevertheless has been a commanding presence among world leaders for the past seven years. Now, with fewer than 300 days left in his term, other presidents and prime ministers are looking beyond him to see who will occupy his chair in a year.

It's an open question whether Mr Bush's foreign policy priorities will be embraced by his successor in the White House. Other world leaders have to calculate how far they should step out on the ledge with a president whose days are numbered and whose legacy has been darkened by the long and costly war in Iraq.

Air Force One will roar out of Andrews Air Force Base today to whisk Mr Bush to the first in a long-planned series of farewell events. After a brief stop in Ukraine, he stops in Romania to attend his last summit with Nato leaders.

A few days later, Mr Bush will land in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi for his probable final meeting with Vladimir Putin as Russian president, whose successor takes over in May.

Relations between Washington and Moscow have plummeted in recent years amid a welter of bitter disputes, and the talks in Sochi have raised hopes that Mr Bush and Mr Putin can lay the foundation for repairing ties.