Talk:United States Enrichment Corporation

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This is from Stiglitz's Globalization and its discontents. "....At last privatization advocates in the US thought of something that few others would, or could, privatize: USEC, which not only enriches uranium for nuclear reactors but also for atomic bombs. The privatization was beset by problems. USEC had been entrusted with bringing in the enriched uranium from Russia; as a private firm, this was kind of monopoly power that would not have passed scrutiny of the antitrust authorities. Worse still, we at the council of economic advisers had analysed the incentives of a privatized USEC, and had shown convincingly that it had every incentive to keep Russia uranium out of US. This was a real concern: There were major worries about nuclear proliferation - about nuclear material getting into the hands of a rogue state or a terrorist organization - and having a weakened Russia with enriched uranium to sell to any one was not a pretty picture. USEC adamantly denied that it would ever act counter to broader US interest and affirmed that it would always bring in Russia uranium as fast as Russia were willing to sell; but the very week that it made these protestation, i got hold of a secret agreement between Russia and USEC. The Russians had offered to triple their deliveries, and USEC had not only turned them down, but offered a handsome amount of money to keep the offer secret...." gathima 22:24, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)