Khalifa Haftar will use Libya’s floods to deepen his control

IN THEdays after a disaster, even the most maladroit politician knows to follow a script: soothe survivors, praise aid workers, vow to rebuild. For thugs who dominate eastern Libya, however, even such basic displays of human decency are a struggle. One, clad in army fatigues, tooled around a flood-battered city behind the wheel of a Humvee, more conquering general than contrite governor. Another blamed the victims for their own deaths.The response was tone-deaf but hardly surprising. Khalifa Haftar, the warlord who controls Libya’s east, cares only about empowering his family. A catastrophe that could have been prevented is, for him, a chance to consolidate power.