Ask the Brits. After the initial disaster, they managed a win. So did the Mongols and Alexander the Great.
If you’re willing to be nasty enough (as nasty or nastier than the natives) you CAN win.
Alas, times have changed.
Now we have humane ways of waging war that are governed by such advanced developments as the Geneva Convention and Rules of Engagement.
For the U.S., at this juncture in history in the Islamic Middle East, it’s a lose-lose proposition.
More importantly, you can’t “give” people “freedom”. There can be no democracy where individual rights are not valued.