This was a state sanctioned murder of unarmed combatants, which Obama and his attorney general have insisted in the past be treated as civilian criminals. So not only were his actions illegal and contrary to the American values he has claimed to defend, his actions were contrary to his own definition of those values:
Only one of the five people killed in the raid that got Osama bin Laden was armed and fired a shot . . ..
As the Navy SEALs moved into bin Laden's compound, they were fired on by bin Laden's courier, who was in the guesthouse, the official said. The SEALs returned fire, and the courier was killed, along with a woman with him. ...
The Americans were never fired on again as they encountered and killed a man on the first floor and then bin Laden's son on a staircase, before arriving at bin Laden's room. Officials have said bin Laden was killed after he appeared to be lunging for a weapon.
The complete story is here.
