KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence swooped into Afghanistan for a secret meeting with Afghan leaders and a visit with U.S. troops, pointing to progress four months after President Donald Trump announced a new strategy to end a stalemate in America's longest war.

Pence's unannounced trip was the first to the war-ravaged country by either Trump or the vice president, and it came as the Trump administration is seeking to stabilize the country by strengthening Afghan forces and seeking a conclusion to the 16-year war there.

The vice president said Trump's new strategy was "already...