People do not want to hear "truth", yet if they know God, they will know this is truth and this is how God works. Chastisement by God was done many, many times, and I too strongly believe " from scripture " that we are being chastised just as Israel has been. Chastiment comes from love. Any parents out there ? Then you know that you chastise your children out of love, to put them back on the right track. I don't think that as Christians we can believe that God did this to us, but on the other hand He didn't stop it, did He? I believe there must be a reason for it, otherwise it wouldn't have happened. It must be part of the "master plan," if you will. Maybe this will bring the country back onto the right track, maybe not, but there must be a reason for it. There is no way we can understand why people have to suffer in this world, but I'm sure that God doesn't cause it!
He allows things to come into our lives but I don't think most of the time he causes it to happen. He just doesn't stop it. That being said, He is always with us to see us through the various tragedies that befall us.