What we can do, I think, is use the efforts that we've made militarily to broker a political settlement that ensures the Afghanistan constitution is abided by, that elections remain free and fair, that human rights including women's rights are respected".
The party has abided by the law in the sense that it applied for permission from the Parades Commission (the body that oversees controversial public events) to hold its rally.
Plainly, Mr Mugabe has abided only by those parts of the GPA that suit him.
Equally, contracts signed under Saddam were not in the best interests of the Iraqi people, both because firms from countries that abided by UN sanctions could not bid and because the deals were driven by Saddam's private interests.
In so doing, it has abided by its long-held view that any dilution of individual rights is to be fiercely resisted.
A key part of Merck's defence against the hundreds of lawsuits it faces over Vioxx will be that it kept no information from the FDA, and diligently abided by its regulator's wishes.
Without commenting on the report's details, the centre defended itself, saying it abided by the rules of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a federally-mandated arrangement.
Saddam Hussein abided by the terms of a no-fly zone and grounded his planes, rather than risk drawing the west into a deeper conflict that might unseat him.That said, a no-fly zone is by itself unlikely to deliver a rapid denouement, or achieve a cessation of violence.
Mr McCain's staff claims that he abided by the rules, and Mr Warren points out that he told both candidates some of the questions.
Deloitte & Touche, Parmalat's main auditor since 1999, insists that it abided by Italian accounting standards and is co-operating fully with investigators.
Most of the accused insist that they have abided by the letter of the law.
