Sometime in February, Kevin Harrington, a Trump aide and National Security Council official, pushes the idea of moving the U.S. military in Europe to show U.S. support for Russia.
The plan is to withdraw troops from countries near the Russian border to “reframe” our relationship with the Kremlin.
[Harrington] had neither military experience nor significant government experience before joining the White House. But he had an influential credential: As a managing director for the Thiel Macro hedge fund, he was close to Trump patron and ally Peter Thiel. Trump’s first national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, announced Harrington’s arrival in early February as part of a “talented group” ready to bring “fresh ideas to the table.”
The Daily Beast
Harrington’s proposed strategy also includes removing all economic sanctions on Russia and weakening U.S. protection of former Soviet Union nations that joined NATO in 2004.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania gained NATO accession in 2004 to guarantee their independence, a measure stridently opposed by Vladimir Putin, who saw the transatlantic military alliance not only enlarged but encroached within what Russia considers its sphere of influence.
The Daily Beast
According to colleagues at the National Security Council, the plan is passed along to some White House officials, including Steve Bannon, but most of the interest in the plan came from Michael Flynn.
Source
https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-official-floated-withdrawing-us-forces-to-please-putin
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