So would you have left the troops in Iraq without the legal protections against being prosecuted under Iraqi law?
You are being obtuse.
Of course not. It was a matter of continuing the negotiations. The Iraqi government just needed the right greasing to make it happen.
But Obama had no desire to keep troops there and this was an easy way for him to withdraw by doing nothing.
Even the Iraqis did not want us to pull our troops out...they just wanted something in return.