巴别塔作者：枫林仙
 
6月5日，注定将被历史记载。八零后美国年轻人爱德华·斯诺登（Edward Snowdon）通过英国《卫报》（The Guardian）和《华盛顿邮报》（Washington Post）爆料了美国联邦政府国家安全局（NSA）通过实施“棱镜”（PRISM）计划大规监听和攫取美国公民及非美公民通讯信息的真相。
6日，《卫报》和《华盛顿邮报》披露了NSA入侵用户电子邮件、网络搜索、即时通讯的情况。
9日，《卫报》爆出，NSA搜集网络和电话等通讯数据的情况。
10日，斯诺登在香港不显山不露水地经由英国卫报记者格伦·格林沃尔德（Glenn Greenwald）的报道，向外界现身。
12日，斯诺登向《南华早报》（South China Morning Post）披露美国自2009年以来长期监控中国大陆香港等地网络，入侵私人用户的电邮等网络通讯账户。
15日，他再经《卫报》放出重磅“炸弹”，英国政府借举办G20峰会，暗中截取与会外国政要的通话，并监控其的互联网通讯。至此，两个被标榜为自由主义典范的国家双双沦陷。
一时间，对自由主义和对英美大规模监听（mass surveillance）的弹赞顿时充斥舆论。美国媒体的反应相当有趣。纽约时报网站6月10日报道称，皮尤研究中心的一项最新调查（http://www.people-press.org/2013/06/10/majority-views-nsa-phone-tracking-as-acceptable-anti-terror-tactic/）显示，多数美国人赞同国家安全局的监控方案，即秘密跟踪电话记录。56%的人认为这是“可以接受的”，而41%的人认为“不能接受”。不过路透社和益普索市场调查公司11日和12日对645名美国人进行了访问，其中31%的被调查者认为斯诺登是爱国者，23%的人认为他是叛国者，另外46%的人没有表达意见。另外35%的人不赞成起诉斯诺登，25%的人赞成全面对斯诺登提起诉讼，大约40%的人没有表达意见。对监听计划，有45%的人认为在一定情况下可以接受，37%的人认为完全不能接受。不过皮尤的调查也宣称，这个结果不能掩盖公众中就此事的严重分歧和争议。而且比起2006年时，公众对此类监听计划的支持率有相当程度下降。
另一方面，美国国内还有人上白宫为斯诺登请愿。自9日以来，要求赦免斯诺登的请愿帖子签名人数（https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/pardon-edward-snowden/Dp03vGYD）已经增至80931人（截止17日下午6时）。此外还有两张与此有关的帖子。其一是要求奥巴马政府解密并停止此类监听计划（https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/declassify-and-discontinue-government-surveillance-phone-records-and-internet-activity/Cgc46HB2），其二是要求奥巴马就此公开辩论。其签名人数均未超过万人。可见目前焦点仍然在斯诺登身上。
如此热闹，岂能少了吾国国内人士的网络争论。然而，争得最起劲的不是左派，而是各种右派——当然没人知道是真右还是假右。奇怪的是，在这场争论中公知们沉默寡言，平时开口闭口皆美国的人，现在默止了。于是，有一种论调开始变得“政治正确”——美国政府的监听是合情合理正当的。持此种论调的人还将批评这些监听项目的人斥为幼稚，为恐怖主义和杀人犯背书。
应该把持这种论调的人称之为美国政府例外论者。他们认为美国政府如此做实在是出于迫不得已。为了反抗和打击恐怖主义乃至极权主义，而使出非常手段，乃是以霹雳手段显菩萨心肠。当有人质疑这一观点时，美国政府例外论者们立刻会反问：那你说该怎么办？
其辩解的理由无非两类：
其一，监听正面效果良好论。美国国家安全局局长基思·亚历山大（Keith Alexander）12日在国会作证时竭力为“棱镜”计划辩护，称该计划曾帮助政府成功挫败了数十次恐怖袭击阴谋。
其二，若无监听结果糟糕论。FBI局长罗伯特·缪勒（Robert Mueller）13日在国会出席听证会时说，如果早实施电话监控项目，美国有可能阻止9?11发生。调查人员曾查到位于也门的基地安全屋一部电话的号码，这部电话在9?11发生前接听了其中一名劫机者的数次电话，但两者的关系后来才被发现。
关于第一类效果良好论。据众议院情报委员会于当地时间15日公布的一份报告称，在去年仅从数百万通的电话中筛选出了大约300通可疑电话。尽管NSA宣称已经成功帮助20国阻止了恐怖袭击。但我们尚未得到更多证据予以证实。可以存疑。其实，即便真的如此，其代价也大可疑问。实际上对这些数据感兴趣的不仅仅是NSA，《洛杉矶太阳报》（Los Angeles Times）13日的报道称，佛罗里达州已经有律师申请使用这些数据，用于法庭作证。（http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nsa-leak-robbery-20130614,0,2282361.story）这也许可以作为效果良好论观点的一个支持理由。
在这一类论点存疑的同时，第二类辩护论点却不仅仅是存疑了。罗伯特·缪勒显然是睁眼说瞎话。事实上9·?11发生前，美国情报机构早就已经零碎地掌握了大量有关“基地”组织的情报。其要点包括，1998年肯尼亚和坦桑尼亚美国使馆受袭事件，1995年在菲律宾发现的有关恐怖袭击的计划，2000年科尔号军舰受袭事件等一系列征兆。此外，本?拉登和扎瓦赫里的情况美国情报机构都早就掌握。并且，之前联邦调查局纽约办事处的负责人约翰·奥尼尔（John O’Neil）及其领导的I-49小组也早就紧密跟进了有关“基地”组织的动向。可惜的是，奥尼尔在情治机构内不受重视，因其个性古怪而仕途不顺，其情报活动也受到官僚机构的掣肘。2001年9?11当天，奥尼尔死于恐怖袭击之中。这一段历史事实由美国记者劳伦斯·赖特（Lawrence Wright）详细周密调查后，撰写为《巨塔杀机》（The Looming Tower:Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11）一书。作者调查了数百位相关人员，查阅了大量档案和卷宗后发现，正是冷战后美国对新的国际形势的迟顿，官僚机构特别是情报机构不能适时作出调整，并有效配置资源，导致了在获得大量有效情报后竟然无法加以整合，并作出有效研判。问题主要不是出在缺少情报，而是出在情报工作效率低下。
美国国会两党组成的9·11委员会在2004年7月24日正式发布的《9·11最终报告》（The 9/11 Commission Report：Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States）亦宣称：“9·11袭击是一次震撼，但本来不应该成为一次震惊。伊斯兰极端分子早就给出了大量警告，他们要无差别地滥杀美国人。尽管乌萨玛·本·拉登自己直到1990年代才变成威胁信号，而伊斯兰恐怖主义的威胁正是在这十年间成长起来的。”（“The 9/11 attacks were a shock, but they should not have come as a surprise. Islamist extremists had given plenty of warning that they meant to kill Americans indiscriminately and in large numbers. Although Usama Bin Ladin himself would not emerge as a signal threat until the late 1990s, the threat of Islamist terrorism grew over the decade.”）
1998年2月1日，本·拉登发表宣言，称杀死美国人是真主赋予每一个穆斯林的责任。美国情报机构却并没有将其列为最危险人物。所以报告宣称，直到9·11发生，美国的政府、国会、传媒和公众都没有收到任何相关警告。报告发布后，该委员会主席托马斯?基恩（Thomas Kean）公开宣称，联邦调查局和中央情报局都没有为总统提供良好的情报服务（http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2004/s1160100.htm）。但该委员会及其报告遭到了抨击，被认为是推脱领导责任和掩盖事情真相。
事后由小布什政府于2001年10月26签署生效的《爱国者法案》（The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001）从一开始便遭到质疑。美国的电了隐私信息中心（The Electronic Privacy Information Center ，EPIC）批评此法案违宪。（http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/#Analysis）关于此法案的争议至今不绝。因此，斯诺登并非对爱国者法案所开启并被奥巴马政府坚决支持和扩展的监视计划的唯一质疑者和反对者。
在警视政府权力方面和斯诺登同样的，至少还有美国陆军第10山地师上等兵布拉德利·曼宁（Bradley Manning）。曼宁将其掌握的25万份机密信息给予维基解密。在曼宁披露的资料中，包括了美军在阿富汗前线滥杀无辜的情况。2010年5月，曼宁遭美国政府逮捕，目前已经羁押超过三年。

曼宁
 
这些事实说明了一点：美国联邦政府绝非天使！这是任何自由主义者都明白的基本教义——政府在它最好的时候都是一个祸害。此语出自美国革命的灵魂人物潘恩的《常识》。我们相信，许多将维护美国联邦政府大规模监听视为政治正确的人都忘记了这一谆谆教导。
事实上随着情况的不断披露，我们还发现了一个极不利于美国政府及其辩护士的情况。那就是反恐为何要大规模监听和入侵中国大陆和香港的大量电子用户的个人账户和电子邮箱？为什么MSA支持了英国政府监听八国集团峰会，而且连自己的北约盟友土耳其都不放过？难道这都是为了反恐？
其实上述为美国政府的大规模监听计划辩护的理由都是十足的功利主义和结果论逻辑。认为只要有效果就可以干，这等于是以目的证明手段之正确。如此看法就是放弃自由主义的正当性底线。这些人并非不知道自己是在狡辩，因此他们开出了一个更加可笑的理由——美国是自由世界的柱石，它的政府为反对恐怖主义和暴政进行监听便是正当的。自由主义是普世规则，既要用来量非美国家，也要用来量美国本身。美国绝不应该是自由道义的例外者。
为了加强上述功利主义说辞，他们还找到一个更加冠冕堂皇的理由：监控方案经过美国国会批准。看来有了程序，就是正当的了。这就更加可笑了。不知道这帮人把程序正义理解了什么。我们看到的情况是连纳粹屠杀犹太人都还程序完善，它就正义了吗？看看历史吧，美国国会批准的东西多了去了，出台残害公民权利的法案又不是没干过。美国独立不久，1798年国会便通过《惩治煽动叛乱法》（The Sedition Act of 1798）。汉密尔顿为此法辩护时声称拿着美国人的钱却为法国人说话的，都应该被惩治。活脱脱一副反自由的嘴脸。1920年国会又通过《禁酒法》，规定制造、售卖乃至于运输酒精含量超过0.5%以上的饮料皆属违法，可处最高1000美元罚款并坐牢半年。这两项侵犯人权的法律最后都以取消作结。
持有这种观点的人信奉的无非是立法中心主义。认为国会立法者享有的专断权力是至上的。否认在国家立法权力之上还有更高的自然法和个人权利。引用哈耶克的观点不难看出，这种观点的实质是以国家立法的外部规则来侵蚀自然法的自然权利。这是赤裸裸地侵犯美国宪法的原则。
因此，斯诺登事件完完全全是一个宪法性案件。美国宪法第三条第三款规定：“只有对合众国发动战争，或投向它的敌人，予敌人以协助及方便者，方构成叛国罪。无论何人，如非经由两个证人证明他的公然的叛国行为，或经由本人在公开法庭认罪者，均不得被判叛国罪。国会有权宣布对於叛国罪的惩处，但因叛国罪而被褫夺公权者，其后人之继承权不受影响，叛国者之财产亦只能在其本人生存期间被没收。”按照这一规定，斯诺登根本算不上叛国者。
恰恰相反，他是一个爱国者。他信奉的是宪法爱国主义，是公民对现代民族国家普遍确立的关于平等自由权利的宪法原则的认同和忠诚。斯诺登去年两次向自由意志主义者罗恩·保罗（Ron Paul）的共和党总统候选人竞选活动捐款250美元。尽管保罗的若干观点并不靠谱，但在警觉政府扩权和滥权方面，他的主张却完全遵循了自由主义的核心教义。斯诺登此举恰恰说明，他是从何种角度来看待9·11之后美国联邦政府权力的膨胀问题的。他在10日公开的视频中曾引用美国国父富兰克林的名言：“不惜牺牲自由以图苟安的人，既不配享受自由，也不配获得安全。”国家不是绝对保证安全的保险箱，而只是一个维护基本公平正义的工具。寻找各种借口、尤其是安全的借口来点点滴滴侵蚀自然权利，最后必将招致奴役的命运。列宁为契卡辩护时也是用样的借口，如果不用非常手段消灭反动分子，苏维埃就不能存活。
处心积虑回避这一案件的宪法性质又正好是美国政客们不约而同的手腕。他们对此事的态度惊人一致——斯诺登是叛国者！共和党籍众议院议长约翰·博纳（John Boehner）11日在接受美国广播公司专访时一开腔便说：“他(斯诺登)是一个叛国者”。共和党籍的众议院国土安全小组主席彼德·金（Peter King）和民主党籍的参议院情报委员会主席黛安娜·范斯坦（Dianne Feinstein）也指责斯诺登是一个“叛徒”。前副总统迪克·切尼（Dick Cheney）16日在福克斯新闻频道（Fox News）上坚持了这一指控，并说这引发了关于斯诺登与中国存在何种关系的疑问。彼德·金更是声称斯诺登曾学习过中文，“有许多理由”怀疑斯诺登与中国有联系，并质疑“中国可能在此次揭秘事件中扮演某种角色”。不过，彼德·金承认尚无“明确的”证据，但他坚持认为此事需要经过充分的调查。众院情报委员会主席罗杰斯也声称，斯诺登泄露了有利于中国的国家安全信息。对这帮政客来说，扯上中国来说事成了最好的借口。阴谋论这玩意儿确实是到处都行销。
实际上，从目前香港和中国大陆方面的官方反应来看，中方对此事并没有大感快慰。正当中美关系紧要关头，我们看不到理由中方会自愿去趟这泡浑水。那么为什么斯诺登会选择香港？这与他之前所在的工作地有关。此人可能颇有一些政治头脑，知道利用香港的特殊地缘政治地位来规避泄密后美国政府可能的追捕和压力，从而与之周旋。根据相关报道可知，只要严格按照法律流程进行，即便最顺利，美国政府要成功将斯诺登引渡回国也得折腾三年，这已经足够斯诺登将此事曝光并产生相应的效应。事实上《环球时报》的评论已经暗示了有关方面的微妙态度。该报称：“中国政府不‘落井下石’，就算照顾了中美关系。但我们实在没必要无限扩大对维护中美关系的理解，我们没有义务在斯诺登事件自然发酵的时候，帮美国政府灭火，结束危机。”
下一个要出来表态的恐怕应该是前总统小布什了。而此案的始作俑者正是这位尚未吭声的当事人。他会让我们失望吗？
最后，必须重温一遍美国宪法第四修正案的全文——
人民的人身、住宅、文件和财产不受无理搜查和扣押的权利，不得侵犯。除依照合理根据，以宣誓或代誓宣言保证，并具体说明搜查地点和扣押的人或物，不得发出搜查和扣押状。


老斯诺登写公开信挺儿子

  苏展

  

  当“泄密者”斯诺登的逃亡之路扑朔迷离之时，由于无法直接与儿子建立联系，老斯诺登昨日撰写公开信“致亲爱的爱德华”，把斯诺登与美国革命战争中的爱国者相提并论。

  老斯诺登的律师布鲁斯·费恩2日在接受媒体采访时称，他上月29日接到维基揭秘创始人阿桑奇的电话，声称他代表斯诺登捎话给父亲，请他的父亲保持沉默。老斯诺登曾在上月28日表示，担心斯诺登被维基揭秘利用。费恩表示他仍在努力为斯诺登父子建立直接联系渠道，不再依靠维基揭秘作为中介。

  信中慷慨陈词

  这封公开信由老斯诺登和费恩撰写，并由两人签字署名。信中引用了美国《常识》的作者托马斯·潘恩之语——“一个爱国者应将国家从政府手中解救出来”，告诉斯诺登他的泄密之举引起了国会对情报机构长期以来一直缺乏的警醒和监督，强行将一个重要问题推上了国家日程：究竟美国民众是不是希望获得不被政府窥探的权利？

  信中将斯诺登比作美国革命战争中的爱国者保罗·里维尔，称斯诺登“号召美国人民奋起反抗政府与日俱增的暴政和专制”。

  信中称，“与你的举动背道而驰的是美国国家情报总监詹姆斯·克拉珀”。信中指出，“克拉珀向参议院用毫无真实性可言的回答捍卫其弥天大谎。奥巴马总统并未在公开场合指责克拉珀亵渎了公众对政府行为的知晓权，同时使得通过民主和平过程做出改变的可能性微乎其微。这是政府的意思亦是执政者的想法。‘我们人民’在美国宪法中是至高无上的，而政府官员是委托管理而非毁灭我们的自由。”

  就在2日，克拉珀的办公室公布一封写给参议院情报委员会的信。克拉珀在信中说，自己在一次听证会上就国家安全局是否收集了美国民众各种私人信息的问题给出了“错误”答案。

  “让我们把这个问题留给美国人民来评判，让他们决定你，克拉珀，谁才称得上英雄。”老斯诺登的公开信写道，“人类的文明史是由勇敢的人民所撰写，他们拒绝向政府错误以及有失公允的行为屈膝。渊博的知识、美德、智慧和无私就如同生命中的北极星。我们相信你的所作所为都符合上述高尚的传统，而这种传统是被大众所认同的。”

  信中还表示：“且不论人生浮沉，除非美国人放弃他们的自负和冷漠，否则我们就不会放弃教育他们维护宪法、尊重法律。你的举动为我们的这番挑战添砖加瓦。我们鼓励你继续与我们交流想法，共同探讨如何治愈或减轻美国严重不良的政治风气。向福吉谷（福吉谷是美国的革命圣地，1777年冬，费城陷落，华盛顿率领败兵残将在这里休整，该时期是整个独立战争里最艰难的时光）、小坟岭（葛底斯堡战役中的攻坚堡垒）、奥马哈海滩（第二次世界大战的诺曼底战役中，盟军四个主要登陆地点之一的代号）以及其他经受过伟大牺牲的革命圣地致以最崇高的敬意。”

  为斯诺登回国努力

  费恩表示，希望这封公开信能有助于让公众继续关注斯诺登泄密事件的辩论，这也是斯诺登本人决定泄密时最初的动机。原本他们希望触发的是关于监控行为究竟应该在美国社会中扮演何种角色的讨论，而现在舆论的重点已经转移向了斯诺登到底准备去哪里寻求政治庇护的问题。

  老斯诺登和费恩一直试图安排斯诺登回国，前提是保证斯诺登获得正当对待和公正审判，并且得到承诺不在审讯之前拘捕他、不禁止他自由发表言论，以及允许他自行选择审讯地点。

Edward Snowden's Dad Calls Him 'Modern Day Paul Revere'

ABC NEWS

 As alleged NSA leaker Edward Snowden's options for political asylum appear to dwindle, Snowden's father sent a letter to his son today, calling him a "modern day Paul Revere" who helped "awaken" Congressional oversight of U.S. intelligence from a "deep slumber."

In the letter, written by attorney Bruce Fein "in collaboration with" Lonnie Snowden, the two say that by leaking information on the National Security Agency's vast domestic and international surveillance programs, the younger Snowden has "forced onto the national agenda the question of whether the American people prefer the right to be left alone from government snooping..."

"You are a modern day Paul Revere summoning the American people to confront the growing danger of tyranny and one branch government," the letter says.

It also references the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's comments before a Senate committee in which he denied the NSA purposefully collects, as Sen. Ron Wyden put it, "any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans" -- a denial apparently disputed by reports based on Snowden's information. The letter asks whether Clapper or Snowden is the "superior patriot."

Did Intel Dir. James Clapper Lie to Congress? It's Complicated

The letter, in which the elder Snowden only requests that his 30-year-old son to "engage us in regular exchanges of ideas or thoughts... about curing or mitigating the hugely suboptimal political culture of the United States," is a departure from Lon Snowden's previous requests that his son stop the leaks and come home.

Where In the World Could Snowden Go?

Edward Snowden will presumably receive the letter as he spends another day in the Moscow airport, where he is said to have been for more than a week and from where he could be watching his options for foreign safe haven slowly vanish.

On Tuesday he withdrew his application for asylum in Russia. Meanwhile, Ecuador's president hinted that his country is pulling back its early enthusiastic support, Venezuela's president said he will not give Snowden a ride out of Moscow, and several other countries said they are not willing to host him either.

Snowden said in a letter distributed by WikiLeaks Monday that he has been left stateless by the American government after they revoked his passport. The U.S. State Department countered, saying he's still a U.S. citizen and could get travel documents to come home to face a "free and fair trial." Snowden has been charged with espionage-related crimes in the U.S.

On Sunday night, Snowden applied for asylum in 19 countries, according to Wikileaks, the anti-secrecy organization that is helping him travel. That is in addition to his existing applications with Ecuador and Iceland. But some of those countries, namely India, Brazil and Poland, have already rejected his application. It appears unlikely he will receive asylum in the others.

If a country does grant Snowden asylum, he is also likely to have trouble getting there because most transit countries have extradition treaties with the United States.

On Tuesday, a Kremlin spokesman said that Snowden had withdrawn his application for asylum in Russia because he rejected President Vladimir Putin's condition a day earlier that he stop "harming" America – in other words, that he stop releasing classified information.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, meanwhile, said the Ecuadorian embassy in London made a "mistake" when is issued Snowden an emergency refugee travel document.

"The right of asylum request is one thing but helping someone travel from one country to another — Ecuador has never done this," Correa told the Guardian newspaper in an interview on Tuesday. He said Ecuador would still consider Snowden's asylum application, but reiterated that he must be on Ecuadorian soil or in their embassy for it to be granted. 

 Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is in Moscow for at two day visit, but while he said Snowden should be supported, he ruled out giving him a lift on his plane. That would have given Snowden a route to the Western Hemisphere, and perhaps Ecuador, while avoiding potentially hostile layovers.

As for the Europeans; Iceland, Norway, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Finland all say Snowden has to be on their soil or in their embassy to apply for asylum. Since he cannot leave the airport, he does not have a Russian visa, and he does not have a valid travel document those responses seem as good as a no.

So what options does Snowden have left?

China has already reportedly kicked him out once from Hong Kong and, after failing to board flights to Havana last week, U.S. officials believe he's not welcome in Cuba either.

The only countries left on his list of 21 asylum applications are Bolivia, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Holland, Nicaragua, and Spain.

Bolivian President Evo Morales reportedly said today his country would "consider the idea," but on commercial flights, Snowden cannot cross the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans without connecting through a country with a U.S. extradition treaty, so that presumably rules out Bolivia and Nicaragua. It seems unlikely that the remaining Europeans countries are willing to risk their relationship with the U.S. and give him safe haven, even though they are angry about reports that the U.S. has been spying on their embassies.

That leaves exactly zero available countries on the initial list of 21.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is placing enormous pressure on any of the countries he could fly to from Moscow.

Though information on highly classified programs appears to still be leaking out with no sign of stopping, at least when it comes to Snowden's travel plans, it all seems to be going to plan for the U.S. A U.S. official told ABC News last week they expected Snowden to run out of options by around this time.

There is still a chance that a country could issue Snowden an emergency travel document and that a private plane, paid for by deep-pocketed backers, could pick him up from Moscow and deliver him to a sympathetic country. But Snowden looks increasingly boxed in, with his options disappearing seemingly by the minute. 


 Lonnie Snowden Letter Praises Son Edward

By MATTHEW BARAKAT 07/02/13 02:40 PM ET EDT AP



McLEAN, Va. -- The father of NSA leaker Edward Snowden, frustrated by his inability to reach out directly to his son, on Tuesday wrote him an open letter, extolling him for "summoning the American people to confront the growing danger of tyranny."

The letter was written jointly by Lon Snowden and his lawyer, Bruce Fein.

It comes a day after Edward Snowden issued a statement through WikiLeaks ripping the Obama administration for leaving him "stateless" and revoking his passport. Snowden is in Russia and has been seeking asylum in multiple countries.

Snowden's father has expressed concern that WikiLeaks supporters who have been helping his son seek asylum may not have his best interests at heart. The father has said he'd like his son to be able to return to the U.S. under the right circumstances. Wikileaks is an anti-secrecy website that has published several documents deemed classified by governments.

In the letter, Fein and the father tell Snowden that "(w)hat you have done and are doing has awakened congressional oversight of the intelligence community from deep slumber" and "forced onto the national agenda the question of Whether the American people prefer the right to be left alone from government snooping absent probable cause. ... You are a modern day Paul Revere: summoning the American people to confront the growing danger of tyranny and one branch government."

On Friday, Lon Snowden told NBC News that his son had technically broken the law but was not a traitor and was motivated by legitimate concerns about the programs. He also expressed frustration that WikiLeaks may not be giving his son the best advice. WikiLeaks has been helping Snowden apply for asylum in a variety of countries. Snowden has applied for asylum in Venezuela, Bolivia and 18 other countries, according to WikiLeaks,

Lon Snowden and Fein have been trying to arrange for the younger Snowden to be able return to the U.S. under circumstances that they believe would guarantee fair treatment and a fair trial, including a promise that he would not be detained prior to trial and would not be subject to a gag order. Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency systems analyst, released sensitive documents on U.S. intelligence-gathering operations.

Fein said in a phone interview Tuesday that he received a call Saturday, after Lon Snowden's televised interview, from Wikileaks founder and publisher Julian Assange. In it, Assange purported to deliver a message from son to father asking that elder Snowden keep quiet. Fein, meanwhile, said he is continuing to work to establish a direct link between father and son that does not require WikiLeaks as an intermediary.

The letter Tuesday was written by Fein but signed by both he and Lon Snowden. It goes on to say: "Irrespective of life's vicissitudes, we will be Unflagging in efforts to educate the American people about the impending ruination of the Constitution and the rule of law unless they abandon their complacency or indifference. Your actions are making our challenge easier.

We encourage you to engage us in regular exchanges of ideas or thoughts about approaches to curing or mitigating the hugely suboptimal political culture of the United States. Nothing less is required to pay homage to Valley Forge, Cemetery Ridge, Omaha Beach, and other places of great sacrifice."

Fein said he hopes the letter can help focus the public on the debate that Snowden initially hoped to foster when he leaked details about the surveillance programs. That debate over the proper role of surveillance in American society "is being obscured by the debate on where to seek asylum."

The asylum debate, meanwhile, is one of keen interest to Assange, who has said repeatedly that he expects to face criminal charges in the U.S. and has been seeking asylum from Ecuador.