I said exactly what I meant twice before: no intent can be inferred from either symbol.
There are lots of symbols of power. Saner leaders (and more modern leaders) try to keep them lower-key. To look at these (or at the sword on some national flags, or parades of missiles in the USSR, or at the small-town parades in America that use army surplus vehicles, or at our Civil War reenactors, or our pint-ball enthusiasts) and to infer that that leader/country/populace is secretly communicating his plans to you is to succumb to your paranoia.