A transcript, released this weekend, shows that there was a palpable concern that despite increased military efforts to defeat them, the Taliban militants would continue to make gains in rural Afghanistan.
"Afghan security forces' performance will probably worsen due to a combination of Taliban operations, combat casualties, desertions, poor logistics support and weak leadership," warned National Intelligence Director Dan Coats.
Coats leads a team of more than a dozen spy agencies, including the CIA and FBI.