Consider the following claim and counterclaim:

claim: "the destruction brought on by fighting during a war has been the most important factor in limiting the growth of human populations over the course of history."

counterclaim: "actually, studies show that the world's deadliest disease epidemics, even during peacetime, have resulted in more deaths than history's major wars."
which of the following statements would the author of the first claim use to refute the counterclaim?
a. many peacetime diseases are really caused by wars, as returning soldiers spread diseases they acquired while fighting.
b. it doesn't make sense to even talk about diseases when wars are obviously much more important to human history.
c. since the start of the 20th century, armies around the world have developed more destructive weapons than ever before.
d. the deadliest war of all time was world war ii, which resulted in more than 50 million deaths all around the world.