Very laudable pronouncements from you all.....
The guy has a problem, but once you are an alcoholic you are an alcoholic for life, having experienced the problem via a member of my family who was in an equally responsible profession, I know how easy it is to slip back into old habits and pretend everyhing is OK.
The facts are, whether you agree or not, that once you have the problem you need all the help you can get and, because of the possible consequences, you should never be allowed the professional responsibility this gentlemen had.
If that isn't enough for you, jsut imagine if he had got onto the Flight Deck and made an error which resulted in the deaths of one or all on board, would you be so quick to defend him?
As a final aside, my Uncle, who was a Genius in almost every respect, died because he was an alcoholic, like most astonishingly clever people, he wouldn't accept his problem was alcohol.