I concur.
Right now and for many years the power and politics of the Middle East has been in stasis, though with a distinct momentum toward the Islamists.
The removal of Saddam will (predictably) upset the status quo and power balances of the entire region, which I believe is the main purpose (e.g., the Saudi dominance in oil, financing of terrorism and "martyrdom", the slide of Iran to a more democratic government).
Arabs correctly see the removal of Saddam as a move to disrupt the entire region. But the reason for disrupting their status quo is primarily to stop the Islamists.
As Christopher Hitchens notes, a side benefit of removing Saddam is that it will wipe the smirk off of Saudi faces.