Downward spiral continues

This milestone doesn't seem to be making very many headlines since Wednesday, but it could be very important. The Iraqi parliament passed a law that would allow some regional autonomy. According to BBC News:

The law is controversial as many Sunni Muslims and others fear it would lead to the country's partition.

The vote went through unanimously, but only 138 of the chamber's 275 members were present.

Absentees included the two biggest Sunni blocs and two of the factions that make up the big Shia alliance.

This may be the most important first formal step in fragmenting the country, something the history of the 20th century would show to be a bad thing for the continuing civil war in Iraq.