It added: "Negotiations are underway in South America for the deployment of land connections between all nations".
A helicopter landing pad which might later take Harriers is now being prepared at San Carlos and plans have evidently been made for the first big deployment of land forces outside the initial bridgehead.
Rather than bang the war drums the Administration has adopted a "defensive" two pronged strategy: 1) accelerate deployment of land and sea-based missile defense systems in and around the Persian Gulf to neutralize any attack or counterattack by Iran; and 2) move for a 4th UN Security Council resolution to increase the so-called sanction regime on Iran.
The only solution is a total ban on deployment of land-based missiles in Europe.
Cockpit voice recorders capture not only voices, but also engine noise, alarms and the sounds of the deployment of landing gear, flaps and so on.
While this "in-kind" response to ballistic missile proliferation may seem attractive, the development and deployment of land-based IRBMs (also known as "Theater Missiles") would have important and far-reaching consequences for U.S. policy for two reasons.
The first stage successfully decelerated from hypersonic velocity in the upper atmosphere, made a successful reentry, landing burn, deployment of its landing legs, and touched down on the ocean surface.
Speaking after a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, Fallon said: "Backed by a rising defence budget this deployment of air, land and sea forces shows that we will continue to play a leading role in Nato, supporting the defence and security of our allies from the north to the south of the alliance".
But Mr. Gore said he would continue to test the feasibility of such a system and would go ahead with deployment of a land-based system if he was "fully convinced" that the technologies were ready.
The BBC's defence correspondent, Jonathan Marcus, says that, if confirmed, the deployment of the landing ships and their marines suggests that the Russians are taking prudent precautions in the event of the Syrian regime collapsing.
The INF Treaty remains in effect, prohibiting the United States and Russia from the development or deployment of new land-based intermediate range (500-5500 km) ballistic or cruise missiles, whether nuclear or conventionally-armed.
