1
Justin Hopkins
Research Question: Should Edward Snowden be considered a hero or a traitor?
List of Annotated Sources:
Source 1: Fitzpatrick, A. (2014, January 22). "Edward Snowden Denies Being a Russian Spy."
Academic Search Premier. Retrieved April 05, 2014.
Three Pieces of Data: Edward Snowden has denied allegations that he was acting as a Russian
spy when he took classified intelligence documents and later fled the United States.
“This ‘Russian spy’ push is absurd,” Snowden claims. He also is documented as saying
that “he clearly and unambiguously acted alone, with no assistance from anyone, much
less a government.”
Summary: Edward Snowden spoke with the New York Times and confidently stated that he is
positively not a Russian spy and that he indeed acted alone. He believes that the
allegations made by members of Congress are “absurd.”
Source 2: Knickerbocker, B. (2013, June 16). “Dick Cheney: Edward Snowden a 'traitor' who
likely spied for China.” Academic Search Premier. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Three Pieces of Data: Former Vice President Dick Cheney thinks Snowden is a “traitor” who
may in fact be a spy for China. “I’m deeply suspicious obviously because he went to
China,” said Cheney. However, Snowden says that he went to Hong Kong because of its
“commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent.”
Summary: At the time, officials and the media were still continuing to discover where National
Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is currently residing. In addition, details about
the massive anti-terrorist surveillance program he revealed to a startled world are starting
to be made public.
Source 3: Page, S. (2014, March 25). "Carter: Snowden Good for U.S.A." Academic Search
Premier. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
Three Pieces of Data: Former President Jimmy Carter defended the disclosures by fugitive NSA
contractor Edward Snowden, saying revelations that United States intelligence agencies
were collecting meta-data of Americans’ phone calls and e-mails have been “probably
constructive in the long run.” Carter speaks about his new book titled “A Call To Action:
Women, Religion, Violence, and Power,” and the actions of Snowden relate directly to
his novel. Carter is quoted as saying “There’s no doubt that he broke the law, but I think
it’s good for Americans to know the kinds of things that have been revealed by him and
others, and that is that since 9/11, we’ve gone too far in intrusion on the privacy that
Americans ought to enjoy as a right of citizenship.”
Summary: USA TODAY interviewed former President Jimmy Carter concerning Edward
Snowden’s actions involving the NSA. Carter does not speak very highly of Snowden
and is quoted as calling him “a traitor” and someone who has disrespected his country.
He also speaks about his new novel and how Snowden’s actions directly relate.
2
Source 4: Rieder, R. (2013, June 21). “Is Snowden a Traitor or a Hero?” Academic Search
Premier. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Three Pieces of Data: Former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw stated that Snowden is merely a “high
school dropout who is a military washout.” Columnist Richard Cohen wrote in a sublimely
baffling outburst that he thought Snowden will “go down as a cross-dressing Little Red Riding
Hood.” Snowden’s acts have most definitely aroused powerful passions.
Summary: Many significant political figures are openly displaying their opinions on the acts of
Edward Snowden, many of them calling him “an irresponsible traitor.” The article describes
how Snowden placed himself above the law and placed his country in great peril. In addition,
the federal government has mounted an aggressive defense of the programs and has begun to
release information to show that they are diligently working on bringing the general public
answers and results.
Source 5: Smale, A. (2013, November 02). "Snowden Asks U.S. to Stop Treating Him Like a
Traitor.” Academic Search Premier. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Three Pieces of Data: Snowden is desperately asking the United State to stop treating him as if
he is a traitor. Interestingly enough, he believes that he should be regarded as an
American hero. It seems as if Snowden strongly believes that he has not committed a
criminal act against our country and that the entire situation is being blown way out of
proportion.
Summary: The article intensely focuses on the letter from Snowden in which he gave to the
German Green Party member Hans-Christian Strobele during their meeting in Russia.
Furthermore, Snowden appealed for clemency from the United States government for
divulging U.S. intelligence activities.
Source 6: Smolowe, J., Keating, S., & Lee, K. (2013, June 24). “Edward Snowden: Truth-Teller
or Traitor?” Academic Search Premier. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Three Pieces of Data: As a teen, Edward Snowden used to sit transfixed in front of his computer
in his condo in Elliot City, Maryland. Snowden, 30, is the $122,000-a-year computer
analyst behind two leaks within the NSA. “Now the whole world knows who he is.”
Summary: The article discusses the computer analyst and whistleblower Edward Snowden who
was formerly employed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA). The leaks
involved NSA surveillance programs which gather personal information about Americans
and the Internet use of high-technology companies. Snowden’s former neighbor also
comments on his personality.
Source 7: Steckel, J. (2014, January 02). "Punish Snowden, Don't Praise Him" Academic Search
Premier. Retrieved April 05, 2014.
Three Pieces of Data: Experts are in complete shock that USA TODAY would publicize a
newspaper where the pope and queen of Britain and Snowden were mentioned in the
same headline. “Snowden is a traitor, not a whistle-blower. He is not a good person like
3
the pope and the queen.” Whistleblowers also do not “flee the country with secrets in
tow” or “hide in China and then Russia.”
Summary: Throughout this article, political experts offer their opinions on whether Snowden
should be considered a traitor or a hero. A select few individuals state that Snowden is
their hero and that he has successfully displayed to the world just how vulnerable people
are to snooping by the Americans. On the other hand, the majority of experts state that
Snowden is a traitor who should be banned from this country. Two very interesting, yet
politically correct points-of-views on the situation.
Source 8: Stein, J. (2013, November 08). "Too Buggy To Hack" Academic Search Premier.
Retrieved April 05, 2014.
Three Pieces of Data: The CIA has secrets that not even Snowden could find due to its
elaborate computer filing system. Even though Snowden had worked for the spy agency
for nearly as long as he did for the NSA and its contractors, only a few of the CIA’s have
bubbled to the surface. The simplest explanation could be that Snowden had far less
access to sensitive secrets as a lowly CIA Internet technician than he did when rooting
around the NSA’s computers for nearly three years.
Summary: The article discusses the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA)
computer filing system and the difficulties of finding information when running a “trace”
or background check on potential spy trainees. Due to varying alphabets and
transliterations of names, the system has limitations. These limitations help prevent
intruders and hackers, such as whistleblower Edward Snowden, from stealing sensitive
information.