To try to think of Putin, a former KGB Colonel, leading a Crusade to protect Middle Eastern Christians would stretch one's wishful thinking to the breaking point. However, it could make a convenient cover story in an attempt to hide his true intentions, and, in my humble opinion, his motive is as follows:
Before this is over, Iran, with Russian and Chinese support, will invade Saudi Arabia and seize the Saudi oil fields. With Russia and Iran in control of most of the world’s developed oil reserves, they can not only say, “Death to America,” but they can then make it happen, and who do we have to blame for this? We have no one to blame but ourselves, for it was the American people who voted politicians into office, both Democrat and Republican, who could be bought by the Saudis through campaign contributions and outright bribes to prevent the development of our own oil reserves. We will soon be dependent on oil reserves controlled by our enemies, who will not hesitate to use this dependence to destroy us.
Once our oil supply is interrupted, our economy could collapse before we can replace Saudi oil with our own. If our economy can no longer provide for the 47% of our population who refuse to provide for themselves but depend on “Free Stuff” in exchange for their vote, our population could fragment and slide into the abyss of violence and racial hatred.
All of Europe would then be totally dependent on Russian controlled oil and gas for their survival, and when this happens, Putin's motive for invading the Middle East will be apparent to even the most rabid Putin apologists. Russia will have finally gained something they've been trying to achieve for centuries, total political control of all of Europe. Yes, "Putin The Great" will be remembered for many years to come
Putin, the chess player that he is and thinking five moves ahead, knows that Obama, an impotent homosexual, doesn’t have the courage to prevent him from taking control of the Middle East, and by the time Obama is out of office in 2017, it’ll be too late.
Putin is the only Russian head of state ever to make a pilgrimage to Mount Athos -- no Tsar ever visited the Holy Mountain -- and the Orthodox Church is again a significant influence on political affairs in Russia (including on Putin's staunch stance against the promotion of homosexuality).