A former director of national intelligence under Obama's administration says Australia and the US do not spy on each other. Admiral Dennis Blair, who is also a former US forces chief in the Pacific, said Edward Snowden is "delusional" and should be put in prison.

According to Admiral Blair, Australia and US have worked closely on matters of national security. Both countries don't need to know what the other is up to all the time. Blair says there was no spying involved because all they had to do was asked. Admiral Blair resigned from his director's post in May 2010.

He former intelligence chief says the Snowden leaks should not damage the relationship between the US and Australia.

Edward Snowden formerly works for the National Security Agency (NSA) as a security contractor and is now famous as a NSA whistleblower. He was spotted earlier at a Moscow airport. US officials are demanding Snowden's extradition. Snowden will be facing charges of espionage for revealing sensitive information about his home country.

Intelligence officials in Australia are worried that Snowden's leaks will also expose the country's intelligence-gathering system across Asia and affect relations with other countries.

Retired admiral Blair dismissed Snowden's attempt to disclose US surveillance operations. Blair said Snowden only made the jobs of US enemies easier. These enemies include the al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

Blair reiterates that all surveillance activities in the US were done within the bounds of the law. This is in contrast with surveillance conducted by China and Russia which were mainly forced by authoritarian regimes for control. The security breach courtesy of Snowden has only made the US work harder in protecting the homeland against security attacks.

Admiral Blair is currently in Canberra, Australia to speak during a National Business Leaders Forum event, The Future Global Security Agenda.

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