Hours before President Joe Biden announced his plans to withdraw U.S. troops from the Afghanistan war, the U.S. intelligence agencies dealt a blow to his hopes for post-American stability. A peace accord between the U.S.-sponsored Afghanistan government and the Taliban is a “low” prospect over the next year, according to a public intelligence report released Wednesday. Starting on Apr. 24, an international conference on peace in Afghanistan will meet in Istanbul, though the Taliban on Tuesday rejected attending. “The Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield, and the Afghan Government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support,” reads the 2021 Annual Threat Assessment compiled by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines. “Kabul continues to face setbacks on the battlefield, and the Taliban is confident it can achieve military victory.”