I believe that a good many of those were brought about by God, and that He, the Creator of this universe and of us, is able to step into this world in a forceful way when He sees fit. He did so in the great flood, when He took Moses to the top of the mountain and gave him the 10 Commandments and when He sent His son to this earth in human form - and directly intervened in many other cases in the Bible. Our nation and world, in terms of Christian morality, are in a hell-hole of sin (like other certain historical periods), and it wouldn't suprise me in the least if God brought about cataclysmic events to shake us up. But there is no point arguing about it, since what will happen, will. The difference is, you'll be surprised; I won't.
Nope. Terrible things have happened in the past, terrible things will happen in the future.
I just don't see things like attacks from al-Qaeda as anything but evil men taking out their hatred, a hatred that must be crammed back down their throats as soon and as often as possible.