This is the correct take.

I think the decision to use the atomic bombs was driven by the doctrine of total war and the demand for unconditional surrender.

The point is often raised that an invasion of mainland Japan would cost hundreds of thousands or millions of lives. The US, though, was not seeking a negotiated peace that offered terms to protect the citizens of Japan. For all Japan knew, the US would do to them what they did to Nanking.

Total war and unconditional surrender have driven US war politics ever since we used the atomic bombs to force the end of WWII. It drives the endless wars in the Middle East and the meat grinder conflict in Ukraine even today.