FACTBOX: Bush foreign policy handover to successor

(Reuters) - President George W. Bush's foreign policy has been driven by his focus on counterterrorism after the September 11, 2001, attacks. The 2003 invasion of Iraq frayed ties with allies and created challenges for his successor.

The following are some key areas.

IRAQ

The 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq angered U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East and the war has grown unpopular with the American public. Bush's "surge" strategy in which thousands of additional U.S. troops were sent to the war zone is credited with helping to lower violence and should allow the next president the flexibility to pull troops out.

IRAN

Bush has led the charge against Iran's nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at developing weapons but Tehran insists is for civilian purposes. The next U.S. president may have difficulty convincing Russia to approve more U.N. sanctions against Iran in the aftermath of the Georgia conflict.

RUSSIA

U.S.-Russian relations, which cooled in recent years, have plunged to their worst state since the breakup of the Soviet Union, following the Russian invasion of Georgia and an agreement in which the United States will place part of a missile defense system in Poland.

NORTH KOREA

The United States was involved in efforts that convinced North Korea to take steps to reveal details of its nuclear program, and Washington has promised to remove Pyongyang from its list of terrorism sponsors once verification requirements are met.

MIDDLE EAST PEACE

Critics say Bush remained uninvolved in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking for too long and that greater efforts earlier in his administration would have helped relations with other leaders in the Middle East.

PAKISTAN

Bush supported President Pervez Musharraf, who resigned this week, as a strong U.S. ally in fighting terrorism. The next U.S. president will deal with a Pakistani government that analysts say appears more reticent to fight extremists on behalf of the United States.

(Writing by Tabassum Zakaria in Crawford, Texas)