DALLAS, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Even though they are thousands of miles away and linked only through news coverage, people in America's heartland are standing four square behind the U.S. government's campaign against terrorism in Afghanistan.
Dewey Enlow, who runs 200 head of cattle on a 1,200-acre ranch near Sapulpa, Okla., is one of those Americans who supports the military action in the faraway nation.
"I think it probably needs to be brought to a head soon, but I don't think they need to quit until they get (Osama) bin Laden and his leaders and bring them to justice," he said.
Enlow, who also runs a farm-equipment business, said he and his family closely follow television coverage of the war but it doesn't consume his busy life. He said his family comes first, followed by his work and church, which often includes a special prayer for U.S. troops.
"We always think of the men on the foreign field and pray for them," he said. "We pray for their families and we wish the very best for them."
Enlow is typical of many Americans who have strongly supported anti-terrorism actions in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, according to surveys, though a slight decline has been detected with the passage of time.
In an early November survey of 1,000 adults by The Pew Research Center For People and The Press, about 81 percent were still positive about the government's campaign, though the percentage of respondents who gave the highest rating had fallen from 48 to 35 percent since mid-October.
In Beebe, Ark., Pastor Tommy Miller of the Union Valley Baptist Church agrees with the way the war on terrorism is being waged and he has the patience for wait it out.
"They are taking their time about it, which they need to do," he said. "They are in an area where you are uncertain about who your enemy is. They said going in it would not be an overnight thing. I think it's going adequately right now."
Although some say those who live in America's heartland don't connect as strongly with the tragedy experienced by those in New York and Washington, the Arkansas minister disagrees.
"I think people in New York were affected, of course, because it was in their back yard but I think this spoke to the whole nation," Miller said. "I think everybody realized what happened there could happen here. It galvanized the country."
News coverage of the events since Sept. 11 has also received high marks from the public, according to surveys conducted by the Pew Center, an independent, Washington-based research center that studies public attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy.
"Overall people are very pleased with the coverage of terrorism," said Carroll Doherty, the center's editor.
In a survey of 1,500 people conducted in mid-November, the Pew Center found that 77 percent of Americans questioned believed that the news coverage had been excellent or good, which was similar to the 78 percent positive rating the public gave the news media during the Gulf war.
Doherty said there has been a slight decline in news interest since Sept. 11 and there is less concern now about the anthrax threat. He said the positive reviews of press coverage may have slipped slightly as a result but he is sure "a solid majority" still has a favorable view.
Tony Pederson, executive editor and senior vice president of the Houston Chronicle, said the feedback he has received from readers has been good. The Chronicle sent three reporters to Afghanistan and Pakistan and he is pleased with the news coverage he has seen.
"I think the coverage has been pretty good," he said. "Certainly of the newspapers I read and what I believe we have been able to deliver to our readers, I think overall I give it pretty good marks."
In Oklahoma and Arkansas, Enlow and Miller praised the coverage in newspapers, radio and television, along with a Boyd Berryman, a print shop operator in Fort Worth, Texas.
"I believe they are doing a very good job of covering the war," he said.
Miller, the Baptist pastor who lives 40 miles northeast of Little Rock, said he understands that there is some information that the government must keep from the public in a time of war.
"I think we have been kept as informed as we should be," he said. "As the public, I don't think we need to know everything. I think the coverage has been as good as it ever has been."
Enlow, who bought a new television and a satellite dish last year, said his family has access now to 24-hour news coverage of the Afghanistan war at their ranch home.
"It's sad that people are put out of their houses. I hate to see innocent people killed and all the things that are happening, but all that is the downfall of a war," he said.
People in northeast Oklahoma keep up with the war because it began with a direct attack on the nation, Enlow said. And it's surprising how many people know somebody who was directly affected by the attacks on Sept. 11, he adds.
"Everybody's watching, everybody's involved," he said. "It's a small world."
