My daughter's best friend (they're both 23 yo) is from Romania. They came to the US, and I quote her, "to have a shot at a better life". They moved to Virginia when she was 3 or 4 years old.
Her dad, and I'm not joking here, waves a hand held American flag in their living room when the news...
Not the Middle East but is military related. My son just found out his buddy (who joined the Air Force to be a mechanic) has been placed to work on the F-22 Raptor engines.