It isn't "higher level" at all.
This planet moves on oil. Period. Every single fucking facet of it is mined, created, distilled, manufactured, transported, fueled, and dependent on oil.
The United States is currently using 5 times as much energy per capita as anyone other country.
The United States currently spends more than the rest of the fucking world combined on its military.
The United States currently has hundreds of strategically-placed military bases around the world that oversees the extraction, transport, and sale of oil.
It's about oil. It's always about oil. It's always been about oil. And until it runs out or a new form of cheap energy is discovered, it will always be about oil.
Everything else - politics, religion, military threats, ideology - everything else is window dressing.