Sam,
You are grasping at straws. The evidence speaks for itself, and if AP wanted to examine the entire sequence, they would have conclusive proof that these "toy shots" from Reuters are staged.
Now, put yourself in AP's position: Are they going to start a war by outing Reuters? Of course, I'm assuming that AP is not complicit.
"The evidence speaks for itself..."
No, it doesn't. And it actually hurts the cause to go off half cocked.
I said the same thing about the New York Times "dead man" photo caption, which turned out to be a simple mistake. (And the paper itself actually had the correct caption.)
I'm the last person to defend these people. For instance:
About That Times “Missile” Photo Caption | Sweetness & Light
http://www.sweetness-light.com/archive/about-that-times-missile-photo-caption
But getting carried away doesn't help.
And the gentleman at EU Referendum, Richard North, seems to be saying the same thing these days. (After having himself been slightly burned re the time stamps.)