Howard stopped short of calling Hicks a traitor. He is either...

Howard stopped short of calling Hicks a traitor. He is either that, or he is/was mentally ill.

What was Hicks doing over there? Was he learning some gardening skills? Are you saying that hicks was not training with a terrorist organisation?

Wake up.

There is a big difference between having empathy and compassion for the situation that Hicks found himself in through his own actions, and being soft in the head.