Fabled Foreign Legion Fading With Time

he Foreign Legion isn't what it used to be. Murderers on the run are no longer welcome, and unhappy recruits have a year to back out without being branded deserters.

These days a bigger issue faces the 175-year-old force that made its name fighting France's overseas battles in jungle and desert. Its key role _ to be a crack professional force available for rapid, no-questions-asked deployment in far-flung conflicts _ has all but evaporated.