Uh Oh: Erdogan Wins Presidency in Turkey

Current Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the election for President today. This was the first popular election of President in the country's history. The Prime Minister has been in office for 11 years as head of the Islamist AKP Party, which established close relations with both Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Iran's Islamic Republic. Erdogan's party blocked US efforts to send combat troops to Northern Iraq through Turkey in 2003 and has severely deteriorated relations with Israel. He has defanged the secular military and has arrested many members.

Now, he's won with a clear majority. He's won with 52% of the vote, 14% ahead of the second place finisher. This is disturbing news as secularists see him as consolidating power with increasingly dictatorial powers.