If you read Politico's oral history of Bin Laden kill operation (10 yrs ago) by @vermontgmg politico.com/news/magazine/…
& want more: the story of 4 natsec lawyers told the secret whose edgy navigation around legal obstacles permitted it, adapted from my book nytimes.com/2015/10/29/us/…
& want more: the story of 4 natsec lawyers told the secret whose edgy navigation around legal obstacles permitted it, adapted from my book nytimes.com/2015/10/29/us/…
Or for the absolute gluttons who want an even more fulsome account of their hyper-secretive deliberations (Attorney General Holder wasn't even told!), see these four sections of the Targeted Killings chapter of Power Wars /2 amazon.com/Power-Wars-Rel… 
The big/edgy legal issues included whether it was lawful to violate Pakistan's sovereignty without even asking it -- an ally that had assisted with other counterterrorism operations-- for help first to see if it was willing and able to carry out the raid itself or jointly; /3
whether it was lawful to go in as a kill rather than capture mission, including whether and under what circumstances an apparent surrender offer had to be accepted or could be rejected, and what to do with a living detainee if they did take him alive; /4
whether it was lawful not to notify Congressional leaders about the intended covert action - the lawyers blessed withholding that notice to reduce the risk of leaks, but then Panetta went rogue unilaterally told them anyway; /5
and what to do with his corpse, including whether burial at sea would be lawful (the Geneva Conventions say wartime enemy dead are supposed to be buried in accordance with their religion, and Muslims are generally supposed to be buried in soil turned toward Mecca)./end
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