ABSTRACT
Ronald Reagan's lifting of the pipeline sanctions in November 1982 was an important piece in the emergence of a broader North Atlantic Treaty Organization consensus on East–West policy. George Shultz acknowledged the need for more US–Soviet leadership communication after Brezhnev's death and the frozen situation between Washington and Moscow. Early on, Shultz had weekly meetings with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. Shultz called his approach "gardening": "The idea was to get out little irritants so that they would not grow into unnecessarily major problems. In a nutshell, gardening was a means of preventive diplomacy and a mechanism of crisis control. On 19 January 1983, Shultz sent a memorandum to President Reagan outlining "US–Soviet relations in 1983," pointing out that "increased Soviet activism since Andropov's rise to power confronts with a situation requiring strength, imagination and energy." The Reagan administration's reengagement policy needed time.
