[Berlin_Freeper]

You can’t move an American armored brigade combat team in peacetime in secret.

[Does so]

You can’t move an American armored brigade combat team in peacetime in secret

Just mark them with "Quarter-Moon and Star" markings and flags. Nobody will notice.

[Helicondelta]

“You can’t move an American armored brigade combat team in peacetime in secret.”

You can. But the point here is to make a statement.

Obama wants to provoke a reaction from Putin to make Trump look bad and to spoil any chance of an alliance between Russia and the US.