The Financial Times is reporting that Iraq’s oil-rich southern provinces are considering plans to set up an autonomous region. The move could threaten Iraq’s unity and present the Bush administration another major setback in Iraq. Members of the municipal council of Basra have reportedly been holding talks with officials in the provinces of Missan and Dhiqar. The three provinces account for more than 80 percent of the known oil reserves in Iraq. The three provinces have complained they are not fairly represented in Baghdad. Only one member of =Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s cabinet is from the southern region.