The June 21 U.S. stealth bomber strike on Iran, culminating more than 15 years of planning and preparation, has brought new attention to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
Formally established in October of 1998, DTRA has described itself as a research and development component for the Department of Defense that can trace its origins to the “Manhattan Project” in World War II, which oversaw the development of the first U.S. atomic weapons.
DTRA says it also formed through the merging of several predecessor organizations that emerged during the Cold War era, and combined a mix of weapons development projects along with efforts to counter the proliferation of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons of potential global adversaries….