U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Afghanistan Saturday, April 9, hoping to promote cooperation from a would-be "unity" government he helped create less than two years ago, but which has proved largely incapable of governing, the Associated Press reports.

Following his trip to Iraq, it is the top American diplomat's second unannounced trip in as many days to a country the United States just can't seem to stabilize.

Kerry will gather together with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, before meeting the two leaders separately. He'll also take part in a set of security, governance and economic development talks with Afghanistan's foreign minister that should underscore the range of difficulties besetting a nation that remains largely ungoverned, rife with corruption and beset by the Taliban's stubborn insurgency.

The objective for the trip is far from ambitious. "The secretary wants to signal continuing U.S. support for the national unity government. It's at the 18-month mark in a five-year term, and we remain committed," said Richard Olson, President Barack Obama's special representative for the country, previewing the trip for reporters, AP says.

The challenges in some ways mirror those Kerry confronted Friday in Iraq.

The U.S. invaded both countries under President George W. Bush, hoping to install stable democracies. After spending some $2 trillion and losing several thousand Americans in military operations, neither has panned out.