A government document obtained by NBC News shows that just four months before Tuesday's Brussels attacks, Belgian officials believed they were making progress in defusing the threat posed by ISIS terrorists in Belgium.
A confidential U.S. cable describes how the Belgian officials outlined the nuts and bolts of their aggressive new counter-terrorism program in meetings with U.S. counterparts.
During the meetings last Nov. 3-4, former U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia Jake Walles -- now the State Department's senior adviser on foreign fighters -- warned Belgium that "returning fighters pose a significant destabilizing threat and noted the relatively high number of Belgian fighters," the cable said.
Frank Arnauts, the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' director for Security Policy, agreed, saying his country "likely has provided the largest number of fighters in Syria per capita." But Arnaut also said Belgium was slowing the flow.
