Was that really his call? Honest question. I don't know. [Edit: Seems the answer is yes.]

You make a good point, though. Did we really have to go after Iwo Jima? Why not leapfrog it. Wasn't the Japanese Navy pretty much destroyed by then?

Or, did we need it as a landing strip for bombers for the invasion of Japan? Seems like we could have found something closer, but I make that statement in ignorance.

[Edits: After posting the above, I googled this issue. Here is the wikipedia link discussing the strategic importance (or lack thereof): Wikipedia: Battle of Iwo Jima -- Strategic Importance

Also, it seems (again, per Wikipedia) that Nimitz did make this happen: Wikipedia: Planning for the Battle of Iwo Jima -- American Planning]