In September 2013, Blumenthal reported for "The Nation" from the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan on the conditions in which Syrian refugees were living. He wrote that he was "staunchly against US strikes, mainly because I believe they could exacerbate an already horrific situation without altering the political reality in any meaningful way". He wrote that the refugees in Zaatari deserved to be heard and commented "there was not one person I spoke to in Zaatari who did not demand US military intervention at the earliest possible moment."