English Component: Weapons in "A Long Way Gone"

In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael, along with numerous other child soldiers have much access to weapons. I believe that these children should never have been exposed to this violence. Most were too young, naive, or innocent to really know what they were doing; the adults were completely immoral in allowing this to happen. Some may say desperate times call for desperate measures, and while I agree with this statement at times, in these circumstances, many were robbed of their childhoods and happiness in their lives.
I would certainly not say weapons development itslef is unethical, though; they just must be used responsibly. The people of Sierra Leone of course should have the right to keep and develop weaponry to protect themselves and stand up for their beliefs. It is just whenever those people get innocents involved that it is truly unethical.