He said that he could not stop the drinking unless his kids and I were there to support him. Is this another tactic to just rope me in?
Yep. He doesn't need you there in order to stop drinking and work on recovery. You can be supportive of his efforts, but if he is serious about recovery, he'll do it regardless of whether you are there or not. The thing about being married to an alcoholic is that you never have any guarantees. Just like in the past, he did well for a while then went back to old ways. You'll just never know for sure.