Domino theory nouveau

OK, this isn't even about politics anymore. This is logic getting abused and recent history getting brushed under the rug. Check out this passage from today's NYT:

The test of American willpower, Mr. Cheney and Mr. Bush have insisted, is in Baghdad, which explains why they stick to the language that it is the “central front” in the war on terrorism and domino that America cannot let fall. Defeat there, they warn, would give the jihadists a victory and empower them to move on to the next country — maybe Pakistan, maybe Saudi Arabia, maybe Lebanon. (NYT, emphasis mine)

Hang on--didn't we invade Iraq? Is it not we who may "move on to the next country--maybe" Iran, maybe Syria? Didn't we play a fairly major role in remaking the country into a recruitment pool and training ground for new terrorists? Bush and Cheney almost imply that the U.S. was minding its own business when, all of a sudden, jihadists invaded Iraq, forcing our hand.

The truth is we made Iraq a domino, and now we are forced to clumsily hold it up. I don't disagree that it is important for someone to make sure the place does not swirl into deeper chaos, but it's ridiculous for the U.S. to pretend to be simply heroes swooping in to save the Free World at the last line of defense against terror. This ignores our role and responsibility in destabilizing Iraq in the first place.