SNIP
>As for other european countries not being involved in military action, I think you might be mistaken. About 90% of peace keeping missions is done by european forces.

Are you sure of your percentages? I read an article for Oct 2006 on the UN's website (they break it down monthly) that stated otherwise:

http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/contributors/2006/oct06_1.pdf

Wikipedia has:


Despite the large number of contributors, the greatest burden continues to be borne by a core group of developing countries. The 10 main troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping operations as of February 2006 were Bangladesh (10,126), Pakistan (9,797), India (9,290), Nepal (3,510), Jordan, Ethiopia, Uruguay, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.[2]

About 4.5% of the troops and civilian police deployed in UN peacekeeping missions come from the European Union and less than one per cent from the United States (USA). The biggest contributor from a western country is Poland with 707 peacekeepers, in 21st place. The USA ranks 31st with 393 peacekeepers, although it pays more than 26 per cent of the costs. The EU combined have 4,421 peacekeepers.

The head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guéhenno, has reminded Member States that “the provision of well-equipped, well-trained and disciplined military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping operations is a collective responsibility of Member States. Countries from the South should not and must not be expected to shoulder this burden alone”.

The United States provided 26% of the UN peacekeeping budget in 2006.[3] As of February, 2006, there were 372 US personnel (8 troops, 347 civilian police, and 17 observers)[2] in worldwide UN peace operations, accounting for 0.5% of the total UN peacekeepers. Current deployments include the Balkans, East Timor, and the Sinai Peninsula.